Meet the Slayer
by LiveSmileBamon
Summary: After a spell-gone-wrong, Buffy and her friends find themselves lost and in an unknown location. When they run into the Salvatore Brothers and Fells Church's very own Scooby Gang, will the two groups of friends work out their differences or will things take a turn for the worst? [Rated T for violence.]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: [READ! VERY IMPORTANT!] This was originally going to be a one-shot, I already had everything planned out but then I got sort of carried away so it will be a multi chapter. I know this story should be in crossover section, but I really wanted the Vampire Diaries fandom to read it. I hope my readers like it and please don't forget to leave a review!  
**

**The pairings are as follows: StefanxElena, DamonxBonnie, Some DamonxElena, MeredithxAlaric is mentioned once. BuffyxSpike, XanderxAnya, TaraxWillow.**

**Summary: After a spell-gone-wrong, Buffy and her friends find themselves lost and in an unknown location. When they run into the Salvatore Brothers and Fells Church's very own Scooby Gang, will the two groups of friends work out their differences or will things take a turn for the worst? **

**Disclaimer; I don't own the Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of its characters.**

* * *

**BTVS BTVS BTVS BTVS**

"Uh, Buffy? Are you sure this is a good idea?" Willow asked. She stared in uncertainty at the Mook beside the counter, who was chewing on a dusty book. Her green eyes widened when she saw the title of it and she raced towards the large beast, snatching the book from his claws and shaking her index finger at him. "Bad Mook! We need this spell book to send you back home!" The Mook let out a soft whine before turning to grab a scented candle from the shelves. He sniffed at it delicately then licked it with a long, shiny tongue.

Dawn giggled. "The poor Mook is harmless. To us, at least." She was sitting on the stairway that lead to the "off-limits" area of The Magic Box, squished in beside Spike.

"Yeah!" Xander chirped from the couch on the other side of the shop, "You weren't at the cemetery last night but I'm telling you, Will, I'd be dead if Mook hadn't helped." He pretended to strangle himself and fall dead.

"Mooks are very nice fellas." Anya nodded, skating to Xander and wrapping her hands around his shoulders. She bent down and gave him a long kiss.

"Get a room, will ya?" Spike rolled his eyes. "Nibblet's still here."

"I actually agree with Spike this time." Buffy said loudly, stretching her neck and frowning at the inappropriate kiss. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter when the couple pulled away from each other.

"Anya's right," Giles called from behind the cash register. "And he did help Xander. It doesn't do us any harm to return the favor." He took out his pocket-watch and glanced down at it, murmuring, "Where is Tara? She said she'd be here ten minutes ago."

"How did he even get here?" Dawn murmured thoughtfully, twirling a long strand of hair around her finger.

"Mooks are quite loyal and demons tend to find them useful as slaves." Giles answered. He took off his glasses and wiped them with the bottom of his shirt. "It's usually their masters who drag them from one dimension to another. Since they're not very, uh, smart, they're defenseless against them."

"Aw." Willow reached out to caress the top of Mook's hairy head and whispered, "Well that's not very nice, is it? We'll get you home, Mooky."

At that moment the door flew open and Tara rushed in.

"So sorry I'm late." She mumbled, struggling to catch her breath.

"It's okay. You're here now, baby."

Giles turned to the two, "Are you ready, girls?"

They nodded. Giles slid open the glass display beside the counter and took out a small jar labeled "Conjuring Powder." Tara nodded her thanks when he handed it to her, carefully unscrewing it open as Willow wiped the spell book Mook had slobbered all over and flipped to the page they needed. They studied the spell for a few seconds before setting the book aside and sitting on the floor Indian style. Tara dipped her forefinger into the jar and passed it to Willow, who did the same. As the others gathered to watch from a distance, they dragged their fingers across the wooden floor. When the powder touched to form a circle, they lifted their palms and pressed them against each other. Finally, they closed their eyes and began to chant.

"Deorum clamat ad te. Aperite portas dimensiva.

Si vocare te sumus. Aperite portas dimensiva!

_Aperite portas dimensiva!_"

The ground rumbled, followed by a bright flash of light that had them all turning away to shield their eyes. A blue-white swirl appeared where the counter had once been.

"What happened to the cash register?!" Anya cried, hazel eyes wide. "My money!"

"I'm sure everything will go back to normal as soon as Willow and Tara close the portal." Xander tried unsuccessfuly to soothe her.

"I should go check. Maybe it's still there." Anya insisted, fidgeting.

"Control your woman, mate." Spike groaned when Anya dove out of Xander's arms.

"Anya, watch out!" Xander suddenly shouted, a horrified look on his face.

Too late. Anya's right skate caught on the scented candle Mook had been playing with earlier and she tumbled straight into the portal with a yelp. Almost immediately, Xander jumped in after her, his own body disappearing as it made contact with the swirling figure. Buffy smacked a hand to her forehead and turned to look at a stunned Giles.

"Buffy... I think-"

"I know, I know." She interrupted, letting out a frustrated breath. Grabbing her younger sister's shoulders tightly, she barked, "You _stay here._"

"But I-"

"No buts! You're staying and that's final! Understood?"

Though she was sulking, the brunette nodded.

Buffy gave her a quick hug. "We'll be back before you know it."

"No worries, Slayer, I'll take good care of Dawn." Spike wrapped his arm around Dawn's shoulder, smiling innocently at Buffy.

"_You _are coming with me." hissed Buffy. She turned to her Watcher, "Take care of her, please, Giles."

Spike sighed but let Buffy take his hand and lead him away.

Giles rested his hand on Dawn's arm, as if to say '_Don't worry. She's in good hands' _and Buffy nodded, turning to smile at them one last time.

"Wait! Buffy!" cried Willow.

"We'll find a way to contact you!" Buffy promised and Willow didn't have a chance to respond before she had disappeared inside the portal, pulling Spike along with her.

Willow gasped, eyes huge. Despite what Buffy had told her she found herself saying, "I-I have to help my friends, sweetie." She smiled weakly at Tara, who nodded and said softly, "I understand."

Willow pulled her hands away from Tara's and scrambled to her feet. "Giles, I'll-we'll contact you somehow."

"Yes, yes, very well. Be careful." Giles clasped his hands together anxiously and nodded.

Dawn, who had been observing the scene quietly, saw that the portal was beginning to flicker. Her sister was going to kill her for what she was about to do but Dawn couldn't stay behind knowing there was nothing she could do to help her friends. And so she pushed past an unsuspecting Giles, diving into the portal just as she heard his infuriated yell, "_Dawn!_"

"I'll tell her it wasn't your fault!" Willow quickly assured him. A red faced Giles could only nod.

"Take care!" Tara called after her girlfriend. Willow was the last to jump into the swirling figure. Within seconds, the portal had disappeared altogether.

* * *

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD **

Elena let her pom-poms fall to the ground as she took a long swig of water. Beside her, Bonnie was struggling to gather her sweaty curls into a pony tail.

"Good game!" Caroline chirped as she came out of the bathroom wearing only her matching black and white polka dot lingerie.

"Yeah." replied Elena, forcing a smile.

"Did you see Tyler?" Caroline swooned. "He played so good."

Elena chugged on her water to avoid answering while Bonnie nodded and giggled.

"Oh come on, Elena." Caroline insisted. She swung open her locker door and pulled out her sports bag, "You can't tell me you don't think Smallwood is totally _hawt_!"

Elena and Bonnie shared an uneasy look. _They _still remembered what had happened to Caroline and their beloved town because of Shinichi and Misao-_before_ the Celestial Court had agreed to restore Fells Church to its original state-even if the auburn-haired girl didn't. A possessed, impregnated Caroline had been running around Fells Church causing nothing but destruction. Just thinking about it made Elena shudder.

Bonnie gave up on her hair, tossing the rubberband aside. Throwing a towel over her shoulder and making her way into the bathroom, she called, "I'm gunna' shower. Be right back."

"Hurry. Stefan and Matt are waiting for us." Elena reminded her before turning back to Caroline.

"Stefan, hm?" Caroline teased. She slipped into shorts and a sleeveless top before swinging her legs over the bench that seperated them and sitting down. "You live with him, right?"

"No." Elena narrowed her eyes. "Where'd you get that from?"

"So you just _sleepover_ every weekend." Caroline raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, feigning confusion. "That it?"

"I don't think it's any of your business what I do or don't do." Elena responded flatly.

"But I'm just worried about your family." Caroline pouted. "I mean, I don't think you're setting a very good example for little Maggy."

Elena balled her hands into fists, "Don't worry about my family, Caroline. Like I said, it's none of your business. And I'll have you know that I'm eighteen years old, officially an adult."

"That doesn't mean you can ditch your family to spend time with a guy you met only a year ago." Caroline shot back, sneering.

Elena pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, urging herself to calm down. "There are reasons as to why I spend so much time with my boyfriend...secrets that keep us together."

"Like a pregnancy?"

Elena's eyes flew open. "_Excuse_ me?"

"You're pregnant. It's the only reasonable explanation." Caroline stood up to face her. She pursed her lips. "Mommy would be so disappointed."

Elena was red with fury. Before she could stop herself, Elena marched forward and slapped Caroline across the face.

Caroline yelped and clutched her cheek. Elena didn't seem to notice the rest of the gawking cheerleaders as she looked Caroline dead in her cat green eyes and whispered, "You don't know _anything _about me."

That was when Bonnie emerged from one of the shower stalls, a towel wrapped around her slim body. She hummed to herself, squeezing water out of her hair. As soon as she saw the red handprint on Caroline's cheek she froze. "What happened?!"

"Let's go, Bonnie." Elena managed through clenched teeth.

"But I haven't-"

Elena didn't let her finish, grabbing her arm and dragging her through the locker room door, despite the fact that the redhead was still dripping wet and wrapped in a towel.

xxx

As Stefan pulled up to the Boarding House and parked, Bonnie wrapped the towel tighter around her body, sighing, "Caroline's wrong. Don't worry about her, Elena."

"I know but it still pisses me off."

"_We_ know the truth, love, that's all that matters."

Matt looked at Bonnie and snickered. "You could have let her change."

Bonnie smacked his arm and Elena blushed. "Sorry."

"'S okay."

Matt held the door open after crawling out of Stefan's car, waiting for Bonnie to follow.

"I sort of got your seat wet." Bonnie apologized, reddening when she saw the water stain her hair had left behind.

Stefan chuckled. "Don't worry about it."

Bonnie was walking beside Matt, grass crunching under her bare feet when Damon appeared beside the open doorway.

"Redbird." He greeted. His dark eyes trailed up and down her body appreciatevely. "I like your..wardrobe choice."

If Bonnie could have blushed, she would have, and wildly. But she was too focused at the moment, trying hard to ignore the voices buzzing in the back of her mind and ineffectively trying to push aside the prophecy she knew was coming. But, like she knew it would happen, she lost the battle and was engulfed in darkness.

"_Fate will bring you together._" A hollow, raspy voice that was not Bonnie's came from the redhead's mouth.

Damon was by her side within seconds, staring into her blank, empty eyes as she continued.

"_Your choices will determine whether you live or die."_

Matt wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her but Damon's velvety voice warned, "Don't."

"_She's coming and there's nothing you can do to avoid it.._"

"Who's coming?" Damon questioned carefully.

"_The Slayer._"


	2. Chapter 2

**BTVS BTVS BTVS BTVS**

Willow landed on dry grass and pointy sticks with an _oomph_. She rolled over, blowing strands of hair from her face, and heaved herself to her feet.

"Will?! What are you doing here?"

She turned to see Buffy and Spike jogging toward her. Xander and Anya weren't far behind. Anya's pair of rollerskates were tucked under Xander's armpit as his girlfriend sulked beside him in her socks.

"Where's Dawn?" Was the first thing Willow asked.

Buffy's face went pale. "What do you mean where's Dawn?"

"It wasn't Giles' fault!" Willow said quickly.

"What do you _mean_ it wasn't Giles' fault?!"

"We couldn't stop her! She just-she just jumped into the portal!"

"Oh, I'm going to kill her!" Buffy cried, her face reddening. "Dawn!" She shouted, hazel eyes searching as she stomped through the woods. "Where are you?!"

"Here." A muffled voice came from her right.

Dawn had landed face first on the ground and apparently hadn't made any effort to get up. Buffy's eyes narrowed as she angrily made her way toward her. Spike got there first, pulling her sister to her feet.

"Easy, Slayer."

"Move, Spike." She deadpanned. He tapped his boot rapidly against the ground, staring at her expectantly. She sighed, "I won't kill her."

"That's m' girl." He beamed and stepped aside.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I couldn't stay behind." Dawn said quietly.

"You're bleeding." Buffy said sharply, reaching out to touch her cheek.

"It doesn't even hurt." Dawn swatted her hand away.

"I ordered you to stay!"

"Forgive me, your highness!" Dawn retorted sarcastically. Her eyes softened at Buffy's hurt expression. "Look, Buffy. I'm sorry! I just want to help!"

"You're gonna get hurt."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"You're still a kid!"

"I'm a teenager!"

"God, Dawn, can't you try to understand that I'm doing this for your own safety?"

"Sorry to interrupt your bickering." Anya cut in, ignoring Xander's sharp look. "But we really should get going."

Buffy turned to glare at her and she flinched away.

Spike snickered, leaning against the trunk of one of the many trees that surrounded them.

"Calm down, Buff." Xander said nervously.

Buffy closed her eyes and took deep breaths before running a hand through her hair and muttering, "We might as well look around. Try to find someone who can tell us where the hell we are."

"I can't go anywhere." Spike declared, arms crossed.

"Why not?!"

"The sun's still out." He pointed up. A small stream of sunlight was pouring through a gap weaving among the pattern of tall trees.

"Spike, we can't waste any more time!"

"Well it's not my bloody fault!"

Buffy dropped her face into her hands and drew in a long breath. "Maybe you should stay here. Yeah, you should. With Dawn. We'll come get you later."

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and squinted. "Ya' know what? I think I'll manage."

Buffy shrugged. "Suit yourself." Turning on her heels, she laced her arm through Willow's and the Scooby Gang carefully made their way deeper into the woods.

* * *

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD **

When Bonnie's eyes finally fluttered open, she blinked a few times in confusion and sat up. Once she saw the light lilac walls and creamy curtains that surrounded her, she realized she was back in her room at the Boarding House. Well, it _had_ been a guest room but considering how much time she, Elena, Meredith, and Matt spent there, it was like their second home.

"_Infine_." A velvety voice breathed from her right.

She turned to find Damon staring at her intently.

"What happened?" Bonnie murmured, massaging her temples as she felt the beginning of the headache that always followed a trance.

"You tranced." Damon said, handing her a glass of water. "Said something about a Slayer."

She took a small drink of her water and stared up at him questioningly.

"I've never heard of a Slayer. But we'll know what it is soon."

"That's a little weird, don't you think?"

"What is?"

"I mean, you've lived so long, centuries. You've been all around the world, you've met all kinds of supernatural creatures. Yet you don't know anything about this Slayer."

"It is sort of _strano_." A beat. "I'll let you change now."

Bonnie almost gasped when she remembered what she was wearing. She brought her hands to her chest and tugged on the towel just to make sure it was still there. She could feel her face heating up. Damon chuckled as she pulled open the closet, grabbed the first clothes she saw, and raced into the bathroom.

Five minutes later the bathroom door opened and Bonnie came out, patting her now dry hair into place. She was surprised to see Damon laying there on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Thank you." Bonnie clasped her hands together, glancing at him shyly through long lashes.

"For what?" He half smiled, standing up.

"For being here. For waiting for me." A light blush crept up the redhead's neck, and she discreetly brushed her curls to cover it.

Damon didn't say anything. Instead, bending his head down to lightly brush his lips across her cheek. Suddenly he straightened, stiffening and narrowing his dark eyes with a low growl. Bonnie gripped his hands, eyes wide.

"What is it? Damon?"

"We have guests."

xxx

"Have you found something?" Elena asked. She leaned over Matt's shoulder and peered at the dusty book he was flipping through.

"No." Matt replied with a shake of his head.

"And you, Merry?" Elena called, tapping her nails against the back of the leather loveseat impatiently.

"Nothing." Meredith sighed, carefully setting Mrs. Flower's old books down on the glass coffee table.

Elena let out a long breath, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Don't worry, love." Stefan coaxed, emerging from the kitchen.

Mrs. Flowers followed, holding two steaming mugs. Stefan wrapped his arms around Elena's waist and kissed her cheek gently before placing a light blue mug in her hands. Mrs. Flowers did the same, handing Meredith and Matt their own mug of tea.

"Drink up, darlings." Mrs. Flower said with a smile and a wink. "It'll help you relax."

"Thank you." The three teenagers replied simultaneously, sipping the hot drink gratefully.

"Is Bonnie awake yet?" Elena whispered to Stefan.

His leaf green eyes trailed up to the ceiling as he listened carefully. Moments later, he perked up and smiled. "Yes. Damon's with her."

"Damon?" Elena repeated, a mix of panic and jealousy flashing in her lapiz-lazuli eyes before her face smoothed out again and she just nodded and chewed on her lip.

A pang went through Stefan. So she still had feelings for his older brother. He turned, pretending not to notice and said, "We should take a break."

Meredith ran a hand through her dark hair, responding, "Stefan, this isn't normal. We should have found _something_ by now."

"We've looked everywhere." Stefan agreed. "I don't understand why."

"Yes, yes. We've gone through every book I own.." Mrs. Flowers suddenly murmured. Her warm brown eyes were thoughtful as she stared at nothing in particular.

The teenagers and the vampire patiently waited for her to finish, drinking from their mugs and chatting quietly amogst themselves.

"Slayer, yes...I'm not sure...I don't know what it is..._She..._That's what she said...That's a possibility..." Mrs. Flowers muttered for a little while longer before she turned her attention back to them, her eyes sharp and focused again. "Ma_ma_ doesn't know any more about this than we do. But she agrees with Meredith. This is unusual. Ma_ma_ knows a lot about supernatural beings and she's never once heard anything about a Slayer. She did point something out, though."

"What did she say?" Elena pressed.

"Meredith, dear?" said Mrs. Flowers as she settled back into a couch.

At the mention of her name, Meredith's gray eyes shot up. "Yes, Mrs. Flowers?"

"You're a vampire hunter."

"Yes." Meredith nodded, raising an eyebrow in perplexion.

"Your job is to..." Mrs. Flowers' voice trailed off and she pursed her thin lips together as she carefully considered her wording.

"Hunt vampires." Meredith finished bluntly for her. "Stake them. Kill them." Her eyes met Stefan's for a mere second-a silent apology.

"Exactly." Mrs. Flowers continued, wounding her hands together. "Ma_ma_ thinks a Slayer might be something similar."

"It makes sense. 'Slay' does mean to assassinate." Matt reasoned, blue eyes thoughtful.

"This isn't good..." Elena whispered, automatically reaching out for Stefan's hand.

"It's only a theory, dear." Mrs. Flowers reminded her. "Though there is one thing Ma_ma _is sure of. She is not part of our supernatural world."

"She?" Meredith repeated.

"That's what Bonnie called the Slayer." Matt explained.

"She's not from the Dark Dimension?" questioned Elena.

Mrs. Flowers shook her head.

Just then, Damon and Bonnie came racing down the stairs, hand in hand.

"What's wrong?" Stefan demanded when he saw the apprehensive look on his brother's face.

"_Lei_ _è qui!_"

"What'd he say?" Elena cried in panic when she saw her boyfriend's green eyes widen.

"The Slayer." snarled Stefan.

"Oh my.." Mrs. Flowers murmured uneasily. "I was distracted. I should have seen her coming."

Three raps on the door had them all jumping to their feet, eyeing each other warily.

"If Mrs. Flowers' theory is true.." Elena's voice cracked.

A louder series of knocks startled them, an annoyed female voice yelling. "I know someone's in there! Open the door!"

Before anyone had a chance to stop her, Meredith pushed past her friends and swung the door open, peering outside with sharp, menacing eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to my reviewers :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't worry, the action will start soon. Don't forget to leave a comment telling me what you think.**

**Disclaimer; I don't own the Vampire Diaries or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. **


	3. Chapter 3

**BTVS BTVS BTVS BTVS BTVS **

"Will you stop that?" Buffy groaned, bringing an end to Anya's humming.

"My feet are killing me." Anya complained. Then she smiled brightly. "Carry me, Xander!"

"We're all tired." Willow said, tugging on the ends of her short red hair. "Give Xander a break."

"Don't forget it's your fault we got into this mess in the first place!" Buffy pointed out in an overly joyful tone. She ripped off a branch obstructing their way and kicked it aside, letting the others go through.

Anya's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "I feel so insulted." She sniffled. "It wasn't my fault!"

"She did trip." Xander quickly went to his girlfriend's defense.

"She never woulda' tripped if she hadn't been so bloody worried about the cash register." Snapped Spike. The sun was starting to set but he still held his leather jacket over his head, just in case.

"If it was anyone's fault it was Mook's." Anya finally decided. "It was because of his candle that I tripped."

"Don't blame it on Mook." Dawn hissed, arms crossed.

"I'm still a little confused." Willow said.

"'Bout what?" Asked Dawn.

"I just...I thought we were gunna' end up in Mook's world. I was expecting, you know, Mook babies, Mook mommies and Mook daddies."

Buffy would have laughed at her her friend's comment but now she was simply too worn out to find any humor in it.

"I know why that is, Red." Spike spoke up when he realized Buffy wasn't going to answer. "When one steps through the dimensional portal, he is supposed to be sent back to the dimension they belong in."

"But-"

Spike interrupted the redhead. "When, like in our case, the individual is _leaving_ their dimension, he is sent to an alternate universe similar to his own." He grinned when he was finished with his speech, obviously proud of himself.

"I'm impressed, Spike." Buffy teased. It was the first time she'd smiled since they had left The Magic Box.

Dawn giggled.

They came to a stop when they realized the woods had come to an end. Instead of trees, they were faced with a wide stretch of old, filthy tombstones. Buffy slowly made her way toward one. Kneeling down, she blew dust off of it and traced the engraved name with her index finger.

"David Benjamin Eckart. 1813 to 1865."

"Wow." Willow breathed. "These are pretty old."

"Yeah." Buffy brushed dirt from her burgundy jeans and stood up.

"I think I see something over there." Anya squinted and pointed. A faint outline of a small lopsided structure was barely visible on the very tip of one of the several steep hills further away.

"You're right."

They zig-zagged their way past dozens of other graves before finally reaching the hill.

"Nobody's here." Anya groaned once they'd reached the top.

"It was a church." Willow said as she ran her hands along the pattern of mold covering the surface of the old, abandoned building.

"What are you sitting on, Ahn?" Xander frowned.

"A grave." Dawn snapped. She shoved her aside. "That's so disrespectful."

Spike rolled his eyes at the distraught ex-vengeance demon and lit a cigarette after fixing the collar of his leather jacket. The sun was completely gone now; the sky cloudy and gloomy, and it was only getting darker as they spoke.

"Honoria Fell." Willow read. She scratched the top of her head, a puzzled look on her face, "That's all it says."

Meanwhile, Buffy was taking in her surroundings. To her left and to her right there were woods. In front of her, more graves stretched out on a long plain. _Does this cemetery ever end?_ She thought glumly to herself. The glistening reflection of a tree about a mile down caught her attention. She cocked her head to the side.

"A river." Spike's low voice startled her.

"Maybe we should sleep here tonight." Buffy tilted her head toward the ruined church. "Dawnie's tired."

A sudden gust of wind flew past them and Buffy shivered despite herself. She was only wearing a thin white blouse. Spike slipped out of his jacket and dropped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks." Buffy mumbled gratefully.

"Slayer?"

She looked up.

"It'll be okay."

Nodding, she could only bite the inside of her lip to keep from blushing as she gazed deep into his knowing blue eyes. Spike inched forward, his lips dangerously close to her own.

"Hey, Buffy!" Dawn's voice had them jumping away from each other.

Buffy cleared her throat. "Yeah?"

"I think we found a house!" Her sister cried excitedly. "Over there!"

Buffy turned to look. Surrounded by pastures and trees, nestled deep in the woods, stood a large brick house. She could just barely make out the faint light that shone through the naked windows.

"Let's go." Buffy decided, rubbing her hands together. "Maybe whoever lives there can help us out."

After a ten minute walk, they finally reached the brick house. A black Ferrari, a red Porsche, and a a gray Toyota were parked off to the side. Xander whistled in admiration when he saw them. Buffy and Spike climbed up the steps leading to the porch, the others lingering behind in a tight huddle. Buffy knocked lightly on the wooden door, sighing loudly when she heard shuffling and whispers coming from inside. Spike knocked louder, narrowing his eyes. He'd obviously heard noises too.

"I know someone's in there!" Buffy couldn't stop herself from calling out. She didn't mean to sound pushy but they sure as hell hadn't walked that far for nothing. "Open the door!"

Finally, the door swung open to reveal a beautiful olive-skinned girl with dark, silky hair and menacing gray eyes.

"Um." Buffy shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, pretending not to notice the way the Latina was glaring at her. "We're-"

Suddenly, the girl was pushed aside by a raven haired boy. Buffy tried not to stare. He was gorgeous. With dark, wavy hair, piercing green eyes, and a muscular body, he could easily pass as a male model.

Towering over Buffy, he glared into her hazel eyes, whispering, "You will leave. Now."

Buffy was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming desire to please the young man standing in front of her. Words flowed easily from her mouth. "I will leave."

"Stop! No! What are you doing to my sister?!" Dawn's horrified voice and Spike's string of profanity seemed to wake her from the dream like state she was in.

Strong hands were on her shoulders, shaking her. She blinked rapidly, finally coming back to her senses.

"What was that?!" Buffy finally managed, slowly backing away as she clutched Spike's arm. "Who are you? Dracula in disguise?"

"Let me handle this, little brother." A silky voice snapped and a young man stepped through the doorway. He looked like the green-eyed stranger but was even more beautiful, with the same dark hair, lean body, and chiseled features. There was something so entrancing about them. They were so beautiful. So inhumanely perfect.

Buffy's eyes widened as she came to a realization. _Inhumanely perfect_. Before she could do so much as blink, his hand was around her neck, strangling her. She choked. He was strong. Stronger than _any_ human being ever could be. She clawed at his hands desperately. Strangely enough, his eyes, she noticed, were obsidian black.

"I'd let her go if I were you." The bleach blonde vampire's voice was venomous, threatening. And Buffy had a feeling he was no longer the Spike she knew, but William the Bloody.

The hand around her throat loosened. The dark-eyed stranger was distracted, staring at something to her left-Spike, she guessed-with a mixture of confusion and anger. Buffy took this opportunity to knee him right in the groin and twist out of his grasp. The stranger staggered back but quickly recovered.

"Damon!" A breathtaking golden-haired girl emerged from the house. Her blue eyes were wide with disbelief and fear. A tiny, pixie-like red-head with wild, lustrous curls followed

"Meredith, stop." An unfamiliar male voice pleaded and a tall, handsome blonde struggled to keep his hold on the pissed off Latina she'd met earlier.

The golden-haired girl gasped when she saw Spike, "What's wrong with your face?!"

"Stay out of this, Elena." The young man who she now knew as 'Damon' hissed.

Damon approached Buffy slowly, studying her as if she were his next meal. Buffy had never met anyone like these people and it was starting to freak her out, not that she'd ever admit it. Suddenly Spike was in front of her, an audible crack echoing throughout the woods as his fist met Damon's jaw. 'Elena' and the red head cried out, their mouths dropping open in horror. Damon's face darkened noticeably as he massaged his chin. Veins protruded around his eyes, the whites of them suddenly tinted a dark red. Two pointy, glistening fangs grew until they touched his bottom lip.

Buffy stared at him with wide eyes. What kind of vampire was he?

"Help him, Stefan!" Elena begged the raven-haired boy with green eyes. Damon and Spike rolled around on the ground, fists flying.

But Buffy only had one thing on her mind. _Vampire. _She had no clue as to what type of vampire Damon was but the two pointy fangs were proof enough for her. And she could safely guess that 'Stefan' was related to Damon and that he was a vampire as well. She reached into her right boot and pulled out the emergency stake she always carried. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that her friend's had done the same, except for Dawn, who was simply hopping up and down like a hyper five year old, fists clenched, as if she were getting ready to wrestle. She tried not to roll her eyes.

Buffy raced up the stairs and side kicked Stefan. He wasn't expecting it and fell back, almost cracking the porch railing in half. She raised the stake. Two pairs of female arms desperately tried to stop her but she easily shook them off. The stake was grazing Stefan's chest when a sudden blow to her stomach had her hunching over, gasping for air.

'Meredith' grabbed her by her collar and delivered another blow to her chest. Buffy tumbled down the three steps.

"Who the hell are you?!" demanded Meredith, digging her ankle boot into Buffy's chest.

Buffy grabbed Meredith's foot, twisted, and pushed her off as she jumped to her feet.

"I'm Buffy. Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer."

* * *

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD **

Meredith planted her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow, "I hate to break it to you, Buffy, but you're boyfriend's a vampire." Not giving the other girl a chance to respond,she lunged and tackled her to the ground.

"Stefan!" Bonnie exclaimed when the green-eyed vampire raced after her to help.

"Look! Look! Bonnie!" Elena was tugging on Bonnie's arm frantically.

Bonnie turned to look, immediately wished she hadn't. A girl with short, dirty blonde locks and a guy with wavy dark hair were circling around the blur that was Damon and the peculiar looking blonde vampire. They were studying them carefully, stakes raised as if they were getting ready to pounce.

Off to the side, a short red-head and a young brunette with long hair were doing the same to Meredith, Stefan, and Buffy, though it was a bit more of a challenge considering the fact that the three of them were all over the place. Buffy was holding up good for such a small girl.

"I'll help Damon." offered Matt. Bonnie looked at him in surprise. Everyone knew he didn't have the best relationship with the dark-eyed vampire. "You two go help Stefan and Meredith." Then was gone.

"Let's go!" Elena urged. She grabbed Bonnie's wrist and dragged her down the steps. Bonnie gaped at what she saw next. Matt, the guy with the wavy hair, and the girl with dirty blonde hair were a tangled mess. Matt was strong for a human, that much was true, but he kept having to throw the girl off of him _and_ avoid the guy's blows.

"_Bonnie_!" Elena's shrill scream startled her.

Bonnie gasped as she caught sight of Elena and the red-haired girl, who were in the middle of a full-blown cat fight. The girl with the long brown hair was gawking at the scene in front of her, her mouth hanging wide open. Her stake was still raised but Bonnie doubted she was going to use it. Suddenly, someone ran into Bonnie, knocking her down. She scrambled up, fists clenched. She knew she wasn't much of a fighter but she would try anyways.

Then she noticed it had been Meredith. Her dark haired friend hopped to her feet, not even bothering to look her way as she raced back to Stefan and Buffy. Meredith grabbed the blonde haired girl and punched her so hard Bonnie found herself wincing. Stefan grabbed Buffy round the waist and Meredith punched her again and again and again. Apparently Buffy wasn't going to give up without a fight, though. She lashed out her own fury by kicking Meredith in the gut-once, twice, three times. Then she twisted in Stefan's arms, elbowed him in the face and finally flipped out of his grasp as she shoved him aside with incredible strength.

Bonnie felt herself began to panic. Nothing could stop this fight anymore. Her friends were fighting to their deaths and she was just standing there like an idiot. Well, she wasn't the only one- the brunette was doing the same thing-but still. She felt so useless. Even with her powers, there wasn't anything she could do to help. _My power! _A plan began to form in her mind. She snuck a glance at the brunette. She was wearing a pearl necklace. Perfect.

Glaring at the necklace, she concentrated. _Please work. Please work_. She begged silently. Then it happened. The pearls around the brunette's neck began to tighten. The girl frowned, tugging lightly on it before she noticed something was wrong.

"Buffy!" She choked out, frantically grabbing at the necklace, "Bu-" She broke into a fit of coughs.

"Leave her alone!" A shriek. But Bonnie wouldn't let it break into her concentration.

"Don't do it!" Elena's voice. "Bonnie!" Bonnie whipped around just in time to see Elena flying through the air and landing in a heap on the ground fifteen feet away. Bonnie's brown eyes widened when she realized what the other red head was going to do; what Elena had tried to stop from happening.

"No!" This time it was Damon's enraged scream.

But it was too late. A blast of Power shot from the girl's hands. Its target-Bonnie herself. The two red-head's met eyes. And then Bonnie blacked out.

* * *

**A/N: I hope my readers enjoy this chapter. The drama is only getting started ;) Thanks for the comments, they are appreciated. Don't forget to review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD **

"What did you do to her?!" Damon velvety voice was no longer cool and controlled.

Elena struggled to sit up. Damon had a huge knot on his forehead and a swollen eye. Blood trickled down his chin. Yet she had _never_ seen him this furious before. His knuckles were white from clenching them so hard, dark eyes flashing with fury.

And then she Bonnie. Elena gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. Bonnie's left arm was placed flat against her chest, her right one outstretched in front of her face as if she were protecting herself. Her eyes were wide with horror, lips parted slightly. She wasn't moving. She wasn't blinking. She wasn't breathing at all. Bonnie had been turned into _stone. _

The only good thing about the whole situation was that everyone had stopped trying to kill each other to gape at her friend.

"Bloody hell." The bleach blonde vampire with the thick British accent broke the silence. "You turned her into stone, Medusa!"

"I'm sure it was a mistake. Right, _Willow_?" The guy with wavy dark hair chuckled nervously as he wrapped an arm tightly around the girl with dirty blonde hair.

Willow fidgeted, inching closer to the girl she'd been trying to protect. "At least I didn't kill her."

Elena carefully made her way to Bonnie and Damon, glancing over her shoulder in case any of the foreigners were plotting something against her. But everyone was deadly still and silent. The expression Damon wore was neutral but Elena knew better. She knew he was silently agonizing inside.

Strangely enough, Elena didn't feel envious or possessive when Damon brought his hand up and stroked Bonnie's cheek, his face contorting into a mask of pain and anger. Apprehensively, she mimicked his actions, reaching out to touch her friend's face. It was no longer smooth and warm, no longer able to dent into deep dimples when she laughed. Instead, it felt sharp and jagged.

Damon lay his hand on the small of Elena's back. That was enough to make her fall into his arms and burst into tears.

"Meredith!" Stefan yelped suddenly. "Watch out!"

"Slayer! No!" Another cry.

Elena whirled around. Meredith fell to her knees, clutching a bloody stake driven into her stomach. Then there was Buffy. Her eyes were wide, glistening with unshed tears as she stared in horror at what she'd done.

"I didn't know..." Buffy raised a hand to her mouth. She staggered back. "I thought you were a vampire.."

"Get her in the house!" A soft voice called out. Mrs. Flowers was standing in the doorway, "Now!"

Everyone sprung into action. While Stefan carefully carried Meredith inside, Elena and Matt raced into the kitchen with Mrs. Flowers.

Matt gathered an armful of gauzes and cloths, Elena filled a bowl with warm water, and Mrs. Flowers dug through her cabinet of herbs until she found the jar labeled 'Healing'.

"Go. Go help Meredith. I'll be right out." Mrs. Flowers ushered the two of them out of the kitchen when she realized they were waiting for her.

"We're only going to take a look at the wound. Okay, Mere?" Elena knelt down beside Meredith, who was laying across the loveseat. She brushed aside the hair matted to Meredith's sweaty forehead.

"We're going to have to cut through her shirt." Stefan concluded.

"Here." Damon seemed to appear out of thin air as he reached over Elena and Matt and handed his brother a knife.

"Don't move." Stefan ordered as he dug the blade into the fabric. After cutting a big hole around the area where the stake pierced her skin, he signaled for Matt to pass him a cloth and dipped it into the water.

Meredith winced, reaching for Elena's hand as Stefan wiped the away the drying blood.

"It looks terrible." Matt grimaced.

"And it's only going to get worse." Damon proclaimed, eyes flaming. "If you want her to survive, little brother, you're going to have to take the stake out. Fast."

"He's right." Stefan said quietly.

"Do...it." Meredith choked out. Her face was dangerously pale, forehead covered in beads of sweat.

"It'll be quick, I promise." Stefan wrapped his hands around the stake. "Ready?"

Meredith nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped Elena's hand tighter when she felt Stefan put pressure on it. Elena cringed when Stefan yanked the stake out and Meredith cried out in pain. Stefan tossed the bloody stake to his brother, who rid himself of it by crushing it into dust.

Stefan carefully cleaned the gash and studied it.

"It's not too deep. If you want, I can..." Stefan trailed off in hesitation.

"What?" pressed Matt.

"You're weak." Damon snapped. Stefan's head shot up. He glared at him.

_Get out of my head._

_**Don't be stupid, little brother. **_

_I fed this morning._

_**On animals!**_

"What were you going to say, Stefan?" Elena interrupted the brothers' telepathic conversation. "Can we hurry up here?"

"He wants to feed Meredith his blood." Damon said flatly. "But he's too weak."

"Elena, do you want to save her or not?" Stefan demanded.

"Yes!" exclaimed Elena. "But I don't want you to get hurt! We can find another way."

"I can handle-"

"No. You can't." Damon bit into his wrist and knelt down. "I'll do it." He quickly shoved his wrist into Meredith's mouth. She fidgeted and attempted to pull away. Damon glowered. "Do you want to die? Get over yourself, Scary Mary." Meredith rolled her eyes but stopped squirming.

Damon let his blood flow freely into Meredith's mouth for a few seconds. Then he pulled his hand away and licked the cut shut. Already, Meredith was looking better. Her eyes weren't as sunken as before and color was returning to her cheeks.

"Here, dear." Mrs. Flowers finally came out of the kitchen. She handed Meredith a large mug.

Meredith sniffed the green liquid before taking a small sip and humming in pleasure. "Thank you, Mrs. Flowers. It's wonderful."

"What's that, Mrs. Flowers?" Matt pointed to a plastic baggie the elderly woman held. Inside was a deformed looking, bronze colored leaf.

Mrs. Flowers unzipped the baggie and held the leaf up. "This, my dear, is an enchanted healing herb."

Elena, Stefan, and Matt watched in awe as Mrs. Flowers' wrinkled hands crushed the herb into tiny pieces. She sprinkled the fine grains onto Meredith's wound, making sure to evenly distribute them out. The specks of crushed herb gleamed a brilliant silver for the tiniest fraction of a second before going back to its original rusty hue.

Mrs. Flowers mussed Meredith's dark hair. "You need to rest, darling."

"I'm exhausted." Meredith admitted. Smiling up at them gratefully, she murmured. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you all." Then she rested her head back on a pillow, tired gray eyes drifting shut.

Damon burst through the front door, stone Bonnie settled between his muscular arms. He carefully set her down on the wooden floor. Gesturing her way, he crossed his arms, demanding. "What are we going to do about _this_?"

Elena chewed on her nails anxiously. Yeah, they still had _a lot_ to figure out.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. No Buffy POV this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter even though it's sort of short and I'm not sure if I like it or not. Don't forget to tell me what you think. **


	5. Chapter 5

**BTVSBTVSBTVSBTV**

Buffy was sitting sideways on the concrete floor, leaning against a porch column. Her legs were pulled up to her chin, arms wrapped around them fetal style as she gazed silently inside the house. Nobody had bothered to close the door after Meredith's 'accident'. She watched as everyone ran around like Tasmanian devils, gathering first-aid kit items that could help them clean and heal Meredith's wound.

She was reminded of the time Faith had accidentally murdered Deputy Mayor Allan Finch back in Sunnydale. Buffy had felt responsible for his death despite the fact that it had been Faith who'd staked him through the heart. Of course, this situation was a thousand times worse. Buffy _herself _had staked a human. Though she'd missed Meredith's heart-Thank God-the wound itself was enough to kill her.

Buffy knew she'd never be able to forgive herself if Meredith died. She had her motto. Always told it to her Watcher and the Scooby Gang. _"I'm Buffy. I don't kill humans. It's a Slayer's duty to _protect_ them, not the other way around." _There was that one time Buffy had killed a number of humans, the Knights of Byzantium, but that had been different. The Knights had been a threat to her and her loved ones.

Buffy's vision blurred suddenly, and she found herself blinking back tears and gulping down the huge lump in her throat. She had to be strong. For Dawn.

"What are we still doing here?" whined Anya, shaking her from her thoughts and bringing her back to reality. "These people probably want to kill us!"

"I..I sort of agree with Anya..." Willow spoke up hesitantly. She was sitting on the lowest porch step, playing with Dawn's long hair. "After what I did to their friend..."

"It was an accident, Will." Xander insisted.

Anya snorted. "We all know that's not true." She knelt down and struggled to pull her roller skates on.

"In my defense," Willow huffed. "I was only protecting Dawnie."

Absentmindedly, Dawn touched her neck lightly. She was no longer wearing the pearl necklace; had ripped it off as soon as it had loosened enough.

"What's up with redheads being witches, anyway?" Xander half joked.

Spike rolled his eyes. Bringing a lit cigarette to his lips, he breathed deeply and exhaled near Xander's face.

"Hey!" Cried Xander. "What gives?" He waved away the smoke.

Spike tossed the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it with the edge of his boot before stepping around Dawn and Willow to reach Buffy.

"You okay?"

"Never been better."

Spike chuckled humorlessly. He rubbed his hands together. "Listen, Slayer." He began. "It's late. We still need to find a place to stay overnight."

"You don't suppose _they'll _let us crash?" Buffy grunted.

"It wasn't your fault, Buffy." Spike said in an attempt to comfort her. He bent down to her level and when Buffy's stare dropped to her knees, he lifted her chin up to meet his gaze. "I saw the way she fights."

"I just want to make sure she's okay." Buffy said softly. She coughed and moved away from him. "Wow. Your face got really messed up."

Spike laughed and Buffy cracked a small smile.

"_Scusi_."

Spike whirled around to face Damon. Buffy didn't miss the scowls on their faces. She jumped to her feet, stepped between them and softly shoved Spike away.

"How is she?" Buffy stuck her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Damon tilted his head, dark eyes narrowing to slits.

_Do you really care...Slayer?_

Buffy mildly wondered if she was going insane when she heard Damon's velvet voice inside her head.

_You might be. Insane, that is. _

"How are you doing that?!"

_That's for me to know and you to find out. _

A sly wink her way and then he was gone.

Spike nudged her. "What did he do?"

Buffy didn't respond. She watched as Damon gently rocked the stone girl-Bonnie?-in his arms. His lips were moving rapidly, as if he were talking to her.

Muttering, "Let's go." She hopped down the steps and motioned for her friends to follow.

The brick house was almost out of sight when a low gasp and a "Oh no, you don't." had Buffy whipping back around. Damon had a tight hold on Willow's arm, eyes flashing.

Buffy glowered at him but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he pointed to the girl in his arms, the one Willow had turned to stone. "You did this to redbird." He spat, his voice low and dangerous. "_You _are going to fix it."

"I, uh, thought her name was Bonnie?" Squeaked Xander.

Damon didn't even glance his way. Willow tried to pull away but it was no use. Damon dragged her all the way back to the house. The rest of them, having no other choice, followed suit.

"Stay here."

Damon disappeared inside the house.

"Are we really going to listen to him?!" Anya whisper-hissed. She hid her face in Xander's chest when nobody bothered to answer.

Minutes later, Damon came out again, along with the others. Everyone eyed each other warily. Finally, the handsome guy with green eyes stepped forward and thrust his hand at Buffy. "I'm Stefan Salvatore."

"Buffy Summers." She stared at him skeptically but took his hand and shook.

"Elena Gilbert." The next person to step forward was the girl with golden hair and bright blue eyes.

One by one, they introduced themselves.

An elderly woman emerged from the house. She tapped Stefan on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Stefan nodded.

"Why don't you come inside?" Stefan offered, gesturing toward the house.

"_Che non era il piano, _little brother." Damon's words were razor sharp. He glared at Stefan, who snapped something back in the same foreign language.

Buffy stared at them blankly.

"They're Italian." Elena explained, as if reading her mind. Considering the past circumstances, that was actually a possibility.

"Come on in." Stefan pushed past his brother and led them all into the house.

Spike wagged his eyebrows at Buffy when he slid easily through the entrance and she rolled her eyes. Stefan disappeared up the stairs with a sleeping Meredith.

"Sit." Elena commanded, though she didn't sound condescending.

"Nice house." complimented Buffy. She meant it. Two long black sofas were joined together to form an L. Nestled between them was a small circular coffee table and off to the side were two cream colored loveseats. Perpendicular to the glowing fireplace stood a single leather couch for one with it's own little glass counter, which held a tall wine bottle and glasses. Overall, the furniture arrangement generated a warm, inviting vibe.

"Thank you." Elena sat down on the loveseat opposite Buffy's and Spike's and pursed her lips. "I apologize on Damon's behalf."

Damon grunted, making his way to the leather chair where he filled a glass with dark liquid and sat down. _Why am I not surprised that seat is yours?_ Buffy wanted to say. But she bit her tongue and held back.

"_I'm _sorry." Buffy cleared her throat awkwardly. "For what I did... to your friend."

"She'll be fine." Stefan assured them as he joined Elena and took her hand. "She's already much better."

Just then, the elderly woman came out of a swinging door, struggling to keep her hold on the packs of ice in her arms.

"I'm Mrs. Flowers." The gray haired woman said as she handed Buffy an ice pack.

"Thank you." Buffy was suddenly all too aware of the pounding pain in her arm and head. "Nice to meet you." The cold felt good against the knot on her scalp.

Mrs. Flowers nodded. She turned to Spike and tsk-tsk'd before reaching into the pocket of her apron and taking out a folded cloth. She held it out to Spike, along with an ice pack similar to Buffy's. Spike snatched the objects away and reluctantly muttered a "thanks."

"_I _apologize on _Spike's_ behalf."

"I'm used to it, dear. Don't worry about it." Mrs. Flowers eyes flicked to Damon, who was staring into the fireplace.

Xander snorted.

Spike wiped his face with the wet cloth and winced. Then he held the ice pack to his swollen eye.

"What are you?" Elena wanted to know.

"A vampyr." Buffy said quickly, just barely avoiding Spike's sarcastic response.

"That's not possible." Elena shook her head quickly. She quirked an eyebrow at Stefan. "Right?"

"I've been alive for centuries." Damon chimed in. "I think I know what a vampire looks like."

"Buffy's the Slayer, buddy!" Xander shot back. "I think _she _knows what a vampire looks like."

"Yeah!" Anya pumped her fist in the air. "Plus, I'm a thousand year old ex-vengeance demon! I've met all kinds of creatures before!"

"You? A thousand years old?" taunted Damon with a small smirk. "Humor me."

"It's true." Anya insisted, beaming. "I was born in Sjornjost, Sweden in 860."

"I'm guessing you two are vampires as well?" Buffy asked before the conversation could get out of hand.

"_Si._"

"What exactly..is a Slayer?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"In every generation, there is a Chosen one." Buffy began seriously, ignoring Spike's quiet "Oh, boy. Here we go." and looking Elena dead in the eyes. "One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer."

"Whoa."

"Yeah, we got that."

Buffy elbowed Spike.

"It's not that big of a deal." Shrugged Buffy.

"Oh, don't be so modest." Spike exclaimed. He threw an arm around Buffy's shoulder and began ticking names off on his fingers. "Vampyrs, Demons, Old Ones, Glorificus the Goddess, Dracula...her ex vampire boyfriend Angelus."

"The occasional She-mantis." Xander piped in helpfully.

Buffy exhaled sharply and slapped Spike's arm, slipping out of his embrace.

"Ex boyfriend?" Elena raised an eyebrow at Spike teasingly. "Are you jealous?"

"No!"

"It's perfectly normal. She's your girlfriend."

"What?!" Buffy cried, aghast. "I'm _not_ his girlfriend!"

Dawn and Anya snickered.

"Sorry." Elena blushed.

"I guess this whole thing is my fault." Stefan spoke up, easing the tension. "I tried to compel you."

"Compel?" Buffy repeated.

"Yeah, he shouldn't have done that." Elena said. "But we didn't know. We thought you were dangerous."

"She is." Spike muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Mind Compulsion." Stefan picked up on Buffy's confusion. "A vampire, by using direct eye contact, can control a human. Force them to do or say anything they wish."

"Like Dracula." Buffy nodded her understanding.

Matt was staring at her funny. "Dracula?" He snickered.

"She's not from here, Matt." Elena said evenly, narrowing her blue eyes at him. "How did you guys get here anyway?"

Five pairs of eyes were on Anya, who shrunk back and blushed. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish a couple of times, her nose scrunched up in thought. Finally, Anya slapped a hand to her stomach, "Am I the only one who's starving?"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the fantastic reviews! I guess the Scooby Gangs are coming around...We can't have them trying to kill each other all the time, right? Don't worry, Bonnie's little situation will be discussed soon. Don't forget to tell me your thoughts and thanks for reading! **


	6. Chapter 6

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD**

"Thaaank you." Elena sang. She slapped a hundred dollar bill in the pizza delivery boy's hand and slammed the door shut. "Keep the change."

Stefan set the large pizza boxes down on the coffee table and began to read off the flavors. "Meat, Pepperoni, Cheese, Hawaiian, Buffalo Chicken."

Anya dug right in, grabbing a slice of Hawaiian and taking a huge bite despite her friends' glares.

"What?" Anya stuffed the rest of the pizza in her mouth.

When Matt grabbed his own slice of Buffalo Chicken and gobbled it down, Elena quirked a brow and said, "Matt has the appetite of ten men. I'd start eating soon."

Buffy and her friends weren't so bad. They really weren't. Besides the fact that Buffy had almost killed Meredith and Willow had turned her best friend into stone, they were actually really nice and funny. Especially Xander and Anya. Elena loved how silly and down-to-earth the couple was.

Willow was the complete opposite of Bonnie. Though both of them were short and had the same shade of red hair, the similarities ended there. Whereas Bonnie was always cheerful and had a happy-go-lucky kind of attitude, Willow seemed shy and humble. She hadn't said more than ten words since they'd gotten there.

Buffy's sister, Dawn, was nothing but sweet and sincere. She was the youngest and the kindest. Which made it all the more hard to understand why she was such good friends with Spike, the vulgar, sarcastically bitter bleach-blonde vampire.

Elena thought she shouldn't be so quick to judge Spike though. If he were all that bad, he wouldn't even be here, right? After all, he had agreed to help Mook return to his rightful dimension. Or tried, anyway.

Matt leaned closer to Elena and muttered, "It's not the same without Meredith and Bonnie."

Elena pinched his knee but whispered back, "I know."

"Mrs. Flowers is already looking into Bonnie's case." Stefan told them both quietly. "And I'm sure Willow will help us as well."

"I sure hope so."

"Oh, I most definitely will." Willow assured them, leaning closer to them, a mass of thick hair falling across her face as she nodded.

Elena blushed when she realized everyone had overheard their conversation.

"No, it's okay. Really." Willow insisted, grinning cheekily. "It's the least I can do...If only I had my spell books with me."

"Giles!" Buffy gasped suddenly. She covered her mouth with a napkin and finished chewing. "He must be worried about us."

"And Tara!" Willow added, shoulders slumping.

"Maybe we can call him." Xander suggested.

"Like on the phone?" Dawn set her slice of cheese pizza down and shot him a look of disbelief. "We're in a different dimension."

"It's worth a try." Anya insisted, her mouth full.

"We never told you about Giles, right?" Buffy was speaking to Elena now.

"Nope."

"He's my Watcher."

"What's that?"

"Every Slayer has a Watcher. Giles is mine. He's like my mentor. He supervises me. As in, he makes sure I get my "Slayer duties" done." Buffy rolled her eyes and air quoted. "I guess after everything we've been through though, he's like a second father to us."

"We like to call ourselves the Scooby Gang." Willow beamed.

Damon snorted. Elena raised an eyebrow at him warningly.

_Behave. _

Damon rolled his eyes, downed a glass of Black Magic and stood up.

"I'm going to get a _real _snack." Damon announced, cracking his knuckles. "You're welcome to join me, little brother." He paused. "Oh wait. I forgot. You only feed on bunnies."

Spike tried unsuccessfully to stifle a sticker.

Stefan ignored the jab. "Do you really think that's a good idea, Damon?"

"Now's as good a time as ever."

"No." Buffy snapped. "It's not."

Xander pointed at her. "Slayer here, remember?"

Damon narrowed his dark eyes at Buffy. "Go ahead and try to stop me then, _bambina_."

"What'd he call me?" demanded Buffy, her left eye twitching in anger. "Talk to me in English, bloodsucker!"

"Whoa there." Xander held his hands up as if in surrender. "Chillax, Buffster!"

Elena buried her face in her hands. Of course Damon would be the one to complicate things. She saw Stefan discreetly massage his temple and knew exactly how he felt. Sometimes, Damon made her feel like she was taking care of a stubborn five year old.

"Damon." Stefan drawled out with a sigh. "_Basta_."

"Please." urged Elena.

"I find it amusing." Spike sniggered.

"Shut up, Spike." Buffy huffed.

"But I'm starving." Spike whined. He winked at her and licked his top lip. "A blonde sounds delicious right about now."

Dawn left her spot on the couch beside Willow and crawled into the small space between Spike and Buffy. "Stop provoking Buffy." She scolded with a yawn.

"You're tired, luv." Spike said, taking in her drooping eyes. "You need to rest."

_You can learn one or two things from Spike._

Elena grinned at Damon, who in turn, raised a brow and frowned.

_**All that mushy shit? No thanks, princess.**_

_Spike is sweet. He's an asshole. But sweet._

_**I guess I'm just not built like that.**_

_You're really sweet to me though...And Bonnie._

_**I'm going hunting.**_

"Damon." Elena said warily. "No."

"Fine." Damon stalked into the kitchen.

"You don't have to do that." Stefan was saying when Elena turned her attention back to the others. "We can fix a room for you to stay in."

Dawn's head was resting on Buffy's lap, her feet stretched out across Spike. The position she was in looked very uncomfortable.

"That'd be great." Anya sighed with a large smile. She hopped to her feet and started up the stairs. "Which one's our room?"

Willow sighed. Buffy grimaced. Even Xander blushed at his girlfriend's blunt behavior. "Sorry."

Stefan chuckled. "It's fine. Follow me."

He showed them to a room at the far end of the hall. Elena was surprised to see the unused guest room prim and proper. The bed was made, dressers empty and clean, the bedside table holding a clock and a lamp. As far as she knew, this certain guest room hadn't been touched in years. Laying on the far end of the bed was folded clothing. A mixture of hers and Meredith's, she noticed with a frown.

"I tried to find clothing that would fit all of you." Mrs. Flowers startled them all (except Stefan and Spike) when she pushed the bathroom door open and appeared, wiping her hands on the hem of her apron.

"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers." Buffy smiled and nodded her appreciation.

"Boys, follow me." Mrs. Flowers said. She gestured to the door. "You'll be staying in Bonnie's room tonight. I left some clothes on her bed for you as well." Xander and Spike shared a confused glance before going after her.

"We'll leave you be, then." Stefan cleared his throat and Elena nodded in agreement, taking his hand and making her way out the door.

* * *

**BTVSBTVSBTVSBTVS**

"Dawn!" Buffy hissed. "Did it fit you?" When Dawn didn't respond, she kicked the bathroom door as softly as she could. It was still enough to make the hinges shudder. "Come on! We're all girls here."

Willow giggled as she slipped into a pair of green sweats. "She's shy, Buffy."

"But I'm her sister." Buffy retorted with a huff. "And I have to pee!"

She tugged on the bottom of the long sleeved shirt she'd opted on wearing and played with the elastic of the matching dark cargo pants impatiently.

"Okay, I'm done. Jeez." Dawn finally came out of the bathroom, stretching her arms and sticking her tongue out.

"About time." Buffy pushed past her and slammed the door shut.

"It's a little snug." Dawn admitted, running her hand along the side of the pink jeggings she was wearing. She rolled the sleeves of the white shirt up to her elbows and shrugged. "I don't mind though."

"Well, I feel great." Anya sighed in content. She patted her stomach happily. She did look comfy in a pair of soft white sweatpants and a green tank top.

"Lucky you." Willow muttered.

"Now all I need is to go find Xander."

"Why?" Willow asked as Dawn hopped onto the bed.

"So he can indulge me." Anya blinked rapidly as if it should have been obvious.

"Anya, please." Willow groaned. She grabbed chunks of her red hair and covered her ears. "Not here."

"But-"

"That's enough." Buffy snapped, joining them. "Dawn's here."

"Dawn." Anya gestured to her sister. "Is sleeping."

Buffy sighed and went around the bed, covering the brunette with a thick wool blanket. "Just stop."

"Stop what?" Xander chirped as he and Spike trudged into the room.

"You didn't even change your clothes!" Buffy accused when she saw Spike.

Spike shrugged.

"I feel weird." Xander announced. He flicked the bottom of the fit white tee he was wearing and frowned.

"I think you look nice." Buffy told him.

"Yeah." Willow agreed.

"He's mine." Anya reminded them in a warning tone. She beamed at Xander. "You look handsome!"

Buffy turned away when Anya proceeded to grab Xander and kiss him passionately.

"They're being awfully nice to us." Spike commented, raising his scarred eyebrow as he leaned against the wall.

"Yeah. So?"

"So?" Spike repeated. He squinted as if he couldn't tell if Buffy was serious or not. "You almost killed Meredith. Red here, turned the Wicca into stone..."

"Thanks for reminding me." Willow said dryly.

"I know that." Buffy hissed, arms crossed.

"So when do you think they're planning to kill us?" Spike asked casually.

"They're not." Buffy waved the ridiculous thought away. "They're _good _people."

"Ya' sure about that?"

"Now that I think about it." Buffy tapped on her chin and pretended to be deep in thought. "They might be planning to kill _you._"

"Hah." Spike narrowed his eyes sarcastically.

"I'm gonna hit the sack." Anya yawned loudly. She pecked Xander goodnight and slid in beside a sleeping Dawn.

"Night." Xander called to her, following the others out and quietly shutting the door behind them.

"What's the plan?" Willow asked. She rubbed her tired, blood shot eyes.

"I don't know." Buffy admitted. She tapped her nails against the dark walls behind her and sighed. "We still need to find a way to contact Giles."

"I think I know a spell for that." Willow told her, plopping down on the ground.

"Do you happen to know a spell that'll take us back to Sunnydale?" Spike quipped. He reached into his pocket, took out a cigarette, and was about to light it when Buffy slapped it out of his hands with a glare.

"Yes." Willow replied with her chin held high. She rubbed her hands together when Spike's face lit up. "But.. it requires two witches."

"Well that's great." Spike sneered.

"Give it a rest." Buffy frowned.

"Isn't...Uh.." Xander snapped his fingers and gazed around as he thought. "Bonnie. Isn't she a witch?"

"Yeah!" Willow exclaimed, jumping to her feet with a small clap. "I think so!"

"So we'll find a way to turn her back." Buffy said excitedly. "Then she can help Willow with the spell."

"That makes sense." Spike rolled his eyes and stuck the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow squeaked defensively.

"Why would she want to help us?" Spike demanded. He raised his index finger and added. "You turned her into a statue!"

"Stop with the negativity." Xander huffed. "Yeah?"

"What are you?" Spike shot back. "A hippie?"

"_Spike_." Buffy muttered angrily.

Spike flashed her a toothy grin in response.

Buffy rolled her eyes, grabbed Willow's thin wrist, and dragged her down the stairs.

"Hey." Buffy greeted their hosts with a small smile.

"Hey." Elena gestured to the couches. "Sit down."

Stefan smiled at them but Matt didn't even glance their way. Buffy didn't blame him. After everything they'd done, the hostility only made sense.

"The clothes fit you just right." Mrs. Flowers commented as she waltzed by.

"Yup." Buffy said, pinching the side of the cargo pants. "Thank you so much."

"Bonnie's a witch, right?" Willow blurted out.

Elena looked taken aback but quickly nodded. "A psychic witch."

"Is that, um... almost the same thing?"

"Yeah." Elena massaged the back of her neck and pursed her lips. "I think so."

"Bonnie's descended from the Celtic Druids." Stefan further explained. "It's in her blood."

"Oh." Willow seemed surprised. "That's interesting."

"Aren't you?" Elena asked. "I mean, does it run it your family?"

"I don't know." Willow replied honestly. "I remember this one time my mom told me she liked my haircut. But I hadn't actually cut it yet."

"It's possible." Stefan shrugged.

"I sort of got involved in witchcraft all on my own, though." Willow admitted. "I'm glad I did. It comes in handy."

"Like to turn innocent girls into statues?" Matt spoke directly to them for the first time. He cocked his head and stared Willow down with his huge angry blue orbs. "Real useful."

Willow stared down at her hands. Stefan fidgeted uncomfortably. Elena narrowed her eyes at the blonde haired boy, a frustrated expression on her face.

"I'm going to bed." Matt stormed into a hallway Buffy hadn't even noticed was there before. "Goodnight."

An awkward silence followed.

"I'm sorry about that." Elena finally said quietly. She gestured to stone Bonnie, who was carefully settled in the corner of the living room. "He's quite fond of her."

Willow forced a smile. "No worries."

"So, uh, why'd you ask about Bon?" Elena tried to make light conversation again.

"Oh." Willow blushed. "No reason."

"You can tell us." Elena insisted with a warm smile.

"Well, it's just..." Willow wound her hands together. "The spell-the one that brought us here and can take us back-requires two witches to work."

Elena glanced at stone Bonnie. "Uh. I'm sure Bonnie will help with the spell. You know, once she.." She cleared her throat and trailed off.

"Yeah." Buffy said slowly and stood up. "About that...We'll find a way to get Bonnie back to normal. Trust me. We just need to talk to my Watcher first."

"Good ol' Giles." Xander echoed supportively.

"I know a spell I can use to contact Giles." Willow said. "But I'm going to need-"

"What a waste of time." Spike muttered, staring down at his black polish coated cuticles.

"What was that?" Willow glared.

"You and your Magick got us here in the first place." Spike glared back.

"Spike gets cranky when he's hungry." Buffy apologized while pinching the side of Spike's thigh angrily.

"Easy, Slayer." Spike grunted.

"What were you saying you needed, Willow?" Elena asked, clearing her throat.

"A mirror. A bowl of water." Willow responded immediately. "Anything reflective."

"I'll get you a bowl." Stefan offered, standing up. He quirked an eyebrow playfully. "Unless you want to use the bathroom mirror."

"No, a bowl's fine." Willow cracked a small smile.

Minutes later, Stefan returned with a large white bowl filled to the very brim with sparkling faucet water.

"Thanks. Can you put it there?" Willow chin pointed to the glass coffee table. Stefan obliged and set it down before joining Elena on the love seat again.

"Alright." Willow wiped her palms on the side of her sweats.

Buffy felt the tension in the air rise and thicken with magic as Willow raised her hands over the bowl and drew invisible circles. Eyes closed, Willow began to murmur in Latin.

"Willow?" Giles' familiar low voice sounded confused. "Is that you?"

"Giles!" Buffy stared down at the rippled image of her Watcher. His hair was disheveled underneath a floppy hat that matched the striped blue and white pajamas he was wearing. Behind Giles, Buffy could see his plain white shower curtains and checkered tile wall.

"Buffy?" Giles squinted.

"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed again.

"Do you actually sleep in that?!" Xander peered over Buffy and Willow's heads.

Xander and Buffy burst out laughing.

"What?" Giles set his pajama hat aside and carefully settled his thick glasses over his nose. "What's going on? Why am I seeing you in my bathroom mirror?"

"Giles?" A soft voice called from the other side of Giles' bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

"Tara!" Willow cried. She almost jumped out of her shoes. "Baby!"

Giles disappeared. There was some shuffling and Giles finally returned with Tara.

"Willow!" Tara grinned and hugged herself. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Of course I'm okay, sweetheart!" Willow beamed. "What are you doing at Giles'?"

"I crashed." Tara shrugged sheepishly. "I-I was worried."

"Aw." Willow cooed.

"Hey guys." Tara waved to the others enthusiastically.

The others grinned at her in response.

"Baby, I'm so sorry I had to leave you." Willow murmured, a sad look on her face.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I understand. Really, I do."

"I'll be back there before-"

"Can we get to it?" Spike interrupted rudely. He rubbed the side of his bruised face. "Watcher. Tell us the spell we need."

"Spike." Hurt flashed across Tara's expression, her face falling.

"Sorry." Spike lowered his gaze as if in shame and massaged his jaw.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow. It wasn't like Spike to apologize. At all. For anything. To no one. Of course, for some strange reason he treated Tara (And Dawn) differently. _If only he was like that to everyone_, Buffy mused.

"What spell do you need?" Giles pressed.

"Wait." Buffy stabbed the air with her finger. "I want you to meet some friends first."

Elena and Stefan took the hint, crowding around the bowl after Xander and Willow stepped aside so the couple could peer down at Giles and Tara.

"I'm Elena." Elena smiled and gestured to her boyfriend. "This is Stefan."

"I'm Giles." Giles replied awkwardly.

"Tara." Tara grinned shyly at them

"Nice to meet you."

"Giles." Buffy addressed her Watcher. She waved frantically at Stefan and exclaimed. "He's a vampire!"

"What?" Giles panicked, eyes as wide as saucers. "Is he holding you captive?!"

"What?" Laughed Buffy. "No. Stefan's a _good _vampire." She punched Stefan's arm playfully to prove her point.

"Ah." Giles fixed the collar of his pajama top and nodded. "He has a soul."

"Yeah." Buffy clarified, nodding like a bobble head. "Stefan definitely has a soul. I'm not so sure about his brother though."

When Stefan and Elena shared a puzzled look, Buffy scrunched her nose and added, "At least that's what I think. We haven't actually talked about the whole soul thing yet."

"Vampires have no souls." Stefan said quietly.

"I know that." Buffy frowned. "But you have one, right? I mean, you're a good vampire."

"Of course he has one." Willow snorted. "I mean, Spike has his and he still acts like a jerk most of the time."

Stefan shook his head slowly. He seemed upset. And for the first time since they'd met, Elena looked pissed.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Elena demanded, waving her fist in the air. "Did Damon put you up to this?"

"What?" Buffy widened her hazel orbs in surprise.

"Damon knows how sensible Stefan is when it comes to souls and humanity." Elena was rambling angrily. "Why would he do something like this? And just to mess with him!"

"Damon didn't make us do anything." Buffy cried. "What are you talking about?"

"Let's, uh, not forget you're in another dimension." Giles spoke up. He hesitated. "Vampires may be...different there."

"They are." Xander agreed. "You should have seen Stefan and Damon's vampire faces. They were all like arghh! Rawrrr!" He pretended to claw at the air. "I don't know which vampire face is scarier. Stefan's or Spike's."

"In our world," Buffy began to explain. "A vampyr is nothing but evil. A vampire _cannot _do good unless he has a soul."

"That's not how vampires work here." Stefan shook his head and pulled Elena into a tight embrace. "Although a vampire doesn't have a soul, he does have a choice."

"Interesting." Tara murmured.

"Indeed." Giles agreed.

"Sorry about that." Buffy said and stared down at the ground.

"It's fine." Stefan answered. But he still looked bummed.

"Anyway, Giles." Willow clapped her hands and got back to business. "When we first got here, we sort of...tried to kill each other." She flushed and pursed her lips.

"Understandable." said Giles. "It _is _Buffy's duty to slay vampires."

"Yeah." Buffy ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "But the one person I did manage to stake _wasn't_ a vampire."

"You killed a human?" Giles gasped.

"No!" Buffy paled at the mere thought. "Thanks to Stefan and Damon."

"And Mrs. Flowers." Xander piped in.

"But something else happened." Willow said glumly.

"What?"

"I kind of..." Willow paused and swallowed loudly. "I kinda' turned their friend into stone."

"Like-like a statue?" gaped Giles, eyes wide behind his thick glasses.

"Exactly like that." Buffy murmured.

"It was an accident!" Willow rubbed at her eyes, which were wide and shiny with tears. "I didn't mean to do it! But Dawnie..."

"It's okay, Will." Xander threw his arms around her and squeezed.

"Willow, she'll be okay." Giles tried to soothe. "There's a spell for almost everything."

"See? Giles will help."

"I think I've got it." Tara came back into the picture-Honestly, Buffy hadn't even realized she'd left until now-holding an open, worn book. She pointed to a section on the page and Giles leaned forward to see.

"Yes." Giles nodded rapidly after he finished reading. "Yes. This will do."

"What is it?" Elena bounced with excitement. "Mrs. Flowers couldn't find anything."

"Reverse spell." Giles replied without looking up. "It will reverse the spell Willow cast on your friend."

"Meaning she'll be human again?" Stefan asked. He squeezed his girlfriend's hand softly.

"Yup." Tara nodded and tucked a strand of her behind her ear.

"That's great!" Elena's smile was so big it almost touched her eyes.

"Write the spell down." Giles instructed.

"A paper? A pencil?" Willow pleaded.

"Here you go." Elena handed her a leftover Domino's napkin and a pen.

Giles cleared his throat and proceeded to read the spell aloud while Willow jotted it down.

"Thanks, Giles." Willow beamed, waving the napkin around in the air like a trophy.

"We'll see you soon!" Buffy added with over the top enthusiasm.

"Wait, what?" Tara cried. She leaned closer and knocked on Giles' bathroom mirror urgently in an attempt to get their attention. "How are you going to get back?"

"Two witches need to chant the portal spell for it to work!" Giles yelled.

"We know that!" Xander shouted back.

"Have you found another witch?" Giles demanded, arms crossed.

"We don't need to." Spike said sharply. Buffy noticed he was getting edgier with each passing second.

"What part of 'the spell requires two witches' don't you understand?" The Watcher snapped back.

"You don't understand, Giles." Buffy tried to calm him down. "Bonnie-statue girl-_is _a witch."

"Oh." Giles released a relieved breath. "And you remember the spell, Willow?"

"Yup."

"Good." Giles seemed to relax.

"We'll change Bonnie back first thing tomorrow morning." Buffy promised.

"We'll be back in Sunnydale soon." Xander assured, throwing his arms around Buffy and Willow with a huge smile.

"And we'll totally talk to you again tomorrow." Willow added.

"Sounds good." Tara forced a smile.

"Don't stress yourself out, Giles." Buffy warned.

"We got this!" Xander insisted. "The Scooby Gang's got this!"

Buffy slapped his arm playfully. "Goodbye, Giles!"

"See you soon." Her Watcher responded.

"Bye, baby!" Willow blew a kiss at Tara. "I love you!"

"I love you too!"

And then the Giles/Tara ripple image disappeared altogether.

"That went well." Elena noted happily.

"Yes. Yes it did." Willow beamed at her napkin.

"I still say we never would've gotten into this mess in the first place if it weren't for Willow's magic." Spike grumbled.

"Spike!" Willow snapped. "You're seriously getting on my nerves today."

"Stop it." Buffy said warily.

"Will, what're you doing?" Buffy heard Xander hiss as she settled back into a couch beside her two best friends.

Willow was staring intently at the loveseat Spike was about to sit down on. More like glaring, actually. Buffy knew exactly what the redhead was up to as soon she saw her.

"Will-"

It was too late. The leather loveseat flew back and Spike fell flat on his ass. Willow covered her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle her giggles.

"Bloody..." Spike trailed off. He whipped around to glare at Willow. "What was that for?"

Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Spike, I know you're hungry but-"

"Sod off, Slayer." Spike barked. He massaged his jaw for the fiftieth time that day and muttered, "I'm bloody tired of Sabrina the teenage _bitch_."

"What was that?!" Willow's voice rose an octave higher than usual.

"Willow. Spike." Buffy's voice lost the tired banter it had once held, replaced with something like anger and frustration. "_Enough_!" She was more than tired of their constant bickering. Now she understood how Giles felt. Buffy and Spike did nothing but argue around the Watcher.

That was when Damon walked into the room holding two glasses filled with a dark red liquid. Spike perked up immediately, sniffing at the air. Everyone was shocked when Damon held his hand out to Spike and helped him up-especially Elena and Stefan, who's mouths were hanging wide open.

"Have a drink." Damon offered Spike one of the glasses and smirked. "It is _squisito._"

"Thanks, mate." Spike smirked back and took a long, satisfying swig.

"Is that blood?" Buffy screeched.

"Yeah." Stefan answered for his brother. "But don't worry. Nobody died. Damon has 'donors'." He made air quotes around the last word and rolled his eyes.

Mischief glistened in Damon's dark eyes as he told Spike. "I'm still quite thirsty. Care to join me?"

Spike cackled and the two of them disappeared into the kitchen.

"Don't kill anyone." Elena called.

Buffy just sighed and stared at their retreating backs. She had a feeling Damon and Spike's friendly banter marked the beginning of a dangerous friendship.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews. This chapter was longer than usual so I hope my readers enjoy it. Don't forget to tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD

"Morning, Mere'." Matt greeted when the dark-haired girl pranced into the kitchen. "How's the wound?"

Meredith rubbed at her eyes, which were thick with sleep, and replied, "Much better. Mrs. Flowers' healing herb really helped."

"I'm glad." Matt smiled, pouring fresh pancake mix onto the griddle. "I was worried."

"It hurt a lot." Meredith admitted. She had changed into a pair of warm sweats and a thin long sleeved shirt. "Do you need some help?"

"No. I got." Matt pointed with the spatula to the island. "You need to sit down."

Meredith pouted but obliged and hopped onto one of the stools just as Matt set a cup of steaming coffee down in front of her.

"Thanks." Meredith blew at the hot drink and took a small sip. She watched as Matt turned the toasting pancakes over and scratched the side of his leg with his foot.

"Merry!" Elena's joyful cry startled Meredith, almost making her choke on the hot liquid.

Meredith hugged her friend back softly and grinned.

"It smells so good." Elena sniffed at the air and shot Matt a thumbs up before turning back to Meredith and bombarding her with questions. "How are you? How'd you sleep? How's your stomach? Let me see!"

Meredith didn't say anything, letting Elena carefully pull her shirt up.

"Oh, it's just a scar now!"

Matt peered over Elena's head at Meredith's tanned stomach and nodded. "It doesn't even look like it happened yesterday."

"This is great!" Elena clapped enthusiastically. "You're alright now and Bonnie will be with us soon and-"

"Wait." Meredith interrupted. "Did Mrs. Flowers find a spell to help Bonnie?"

Elena smiled sheepishly and slowly sat down in front of her. "Not exactly."

When a mix of unfamiliar voices and laughs floated into the kitchen, Matt leaned close to Meredith and whispered, "The Slayer and her friends are here. Just a heads up so you won't be too surprised."

"Wait, what?" Meredith reached across the table and gripped Elena's wrist tightly. "What is Matt talking-"

A swarm of people crowded into the kitchen. Trailing with them was Stefan, who was chatting and laughing with them as if they'd known each other forever.

The conversation came to a halt when they saw Meredith.

"Meredith, hey." Stefan pushed past everyone and hugged Meredith softly. "I'm glad you're better now."

"Good morning!" The youngest girl said, offering Meredith her hand. "I'm Dawn."

Meredith stared at her. "Morning." She said coolly and turned back to her coffee.

"It smells delicious." Dawn offered.

"Thanks." Matt muttered, not even bothering to look her way.

"Look, I know you guys are mad right now." Buffy snapped suddenly. "But Dawn didn't do anything. So don't treat her like that."

"Buffy." Dawn reddened. "It's okay."

"No." Buffy crossed her arms and met Meredith's cool gaze. "It's not."

"Why don't you sit down?" Elena offered nervously, motioning to the tile island. "Have some pancakes."

Everyone except for Stefan and Spike took a seat, crowding around the circular island.

"Why don't we try again?" said Stefan as he slid a plate of pancakes in front of each person. His leaf green eyes held Meredith's gray ones, begging her to cooperate.

"With what?" Buffy asked.

"Introductions."

One by one, everyone had their turn.

_Buffy. Dawn. Anya (also known as Anyanka, born in Sweden, a thousand years old), Xander, Willow, Spike. _

"I'm pretty sure you already know who I am." Meredith said with a forced smile. "Meredith Sulez. Vampire Hunter."

Buffy almost choked on her pancakes. "You're _what_?" She squeaked.

"A vampire hunter." Meredith purposely spoke slower.

"As in.." Buffy swallowed, eyes wide.

"Yes." Meredith cocked an eyebrow at her, stabbing at her pancakes with a fork. "Just like you, Buffy, I hunt down vampires and kill them."

"I'm sorry." Buffy blurted out. "I swear I didn't know. The way you fight..." She trailed off and took a small drink of her orange juice.

Meredith flashed her a real smile. She took that as a compliment. "It's fine." She shrugged.

Meredith rolled her eyes when she saw the satisfied look Elena shot Stefan.

"We can do the spell right after we finish eating." Willow spoke up.

"What spell?" asked Meredith.

"That's what I was telling you about, Meredith." Elena said excitedly. "They found a spell that can change Bonnie."

"Oh." Meredith nodded her approval. "That's good."

"They did?" Matt seemed surprise. "They really found a spell?"

"Yeah." Willow said. "We talked to Giles."

"Giles?" Matt frowned in confusion.

"You missed that too." Elena told him. "Giles is Buffy's Watcher."

"Watcher?" Meredith mimicked Matt's perplexed tone.

"He's her mentor." Stefan explained.

"Every Slayer has a Watcher." Buffy added helpfully.

"Cool." Matt clapped his hands together as if he understood but still seemed lost.

"Well, I'm done." Meredith stood up and tossed her empty plate and cup into the sink. "I'll wait for you guys in the living room."

She didn't wait for an answer. Once she was comfortably laying on the couch, she flipped through the channels on the flat screen TV.

_Boring. Boring. Boring. _

Her mind drifted.

_It's actually sort of cool to meet another Vampire Hunter. Err, Slayer. Same thing. Besides Alaric, I mean. We could be friends. Maybe. If we put everything else behind. Like the fact that she tried to kill me. She obviously forgave me for giving her a knot on the head. I don't know._

"Meredith?" Mrs. Flowers warm voice brought her back to reality.

"Oh." Meredith sat up. "Hey, Mrs. Flowers." She reached over and kissed the elderly's woman cheek. "Thank you for helping me yesterday."

"That was no problem, my dear." Mrs. Flowers smiled and sat down beside her. "You should give them a chance."

"Who?"

"The Slayer and her friends." Mrs. Flowers responded, holding her uncertain gaze. "They aren't that bad."

"How can we be sure, Mrs. Flowers?" Meredith sighed.

"They're trying so hard." Mrs. Flowers said softly. "They really are. They just want to help. And I know Buffy feels bad about what happened."

Meredith stared at statue Bonnie, braiding her long dark hair while she contemplated the options. She could safely say that if Buffy had known she was a human, she wouldn't have staked her. The thing was: Would Buffy had staked Stefan and Damon had Bonnie's incident not interrupted the fight? Not that she cared so much about Damon, the jerk king himself. Alright, maybe she'd care a little. But Stefan was one of her best friends despite the fact that he was a vampire.

_Stop being so judgy, Meredith. _She scolded herself. Meredith knew for a fact that she would have killed Buffy and her friends without a second thought had she been given the opportunity. It made her seem a little hypocritical now that she thought about it. She was judging them when she would have done the same exact thing.

A soft nudge broke Meredith from her thoughts. She looked up, straight into Elena's excited blue eyes. Mrs. Flowers was no longer there. When had she left?

"I'm ready." Willow trailed into the living room, everyone else following.

Damon was already there, pushing aside the coffee table and carefully setting stone Bonnie down in the center.

Meredith watched as Spike went up to Damon and slapped his arm as if they were old buddies. She saw how Damon's familiar smirk crept onto his face and how they exchanged a few whispered words. Then she heard Spike's rambunctious cackle and Damon's choked velvet laugh.

Meredith shot Elena a shocked look. "What's up with them?"

"I don't even know." Elena shook her head and quirked an eyebrow, matching her confused expression.

"Excuse me." Willow grunted. She was staring down at a napkin.

Damon and Spike stepped back to give her room, still whispering to each other at top speed.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Matt was leaning against the kitchen door frame, staring at Willow warily.

Elena shot him a dirty look, mouthing _Shut up!_

"Yes." Willow sounded frustrated. "I am! This isn't the first spell I've done before, you know."

"Something could go wrong..." Matt ignored Elena's threat and continued. "If you're not sure-"

"Let her do her thing." Xander insisted, arms crossed as he glared at Matt. He obviously did not appreciate the way Matt was speaking to Willow.

"Willow knows her magic." Dawn added, sticking her tongue out.

"Sorry." Meredith apologized though she wasn't the one everyone was upset at. "It's just that sometimes Bonnie can't control her Powers."

"Yeah." Matt agreed absentmindedly. "That's it."

"She has powers?" Xander snorted slightly. "Like flyyyying powers?" Xander waved his fingers around in the air.

"What are you talking about?" Meredith snapped, beginning to feel defensive about her MIA friend.

"They don't call Powers 'Powers'." Damon spoke up with a low chuckle. "They call it Magick."

"Oh."

"Get with it, Scary Mary."

"Shut up." Meredith shot Damon her deadliest glare, hoping to shake him a little but it only seemed to amuse him even more.

"Alright." Stefan slapped his hand down on the back of the leather loveseat. "Silence, please. So Willow can concentrate."

Elena smirked to herself before joining Stefan on the other side of the living room. Meredith tried not to make a face. Elena didn't bother to hide the fact that she loved that her boyfriend was taking charge. She really loved to show off.

Willow tossed the wrinkled napkin aside and rubbed her hands together. She closed her eyes and began chanting in a foreign language. Willow's palms began to glow with Power-Magick, excuse Meredith. All at once, the colorful beams shot from Willow's hands, engulfing Bonnie's frozen figure.

Willow stepped back, cocked her head to the side, and stared.

The stone covering Bonnie's face and body was cracking, disappearing into thin air with a zigzag pattern. The last of the stone dissipated and Bonnie's eyes flew open with a loud gasp. She fell back, right into Damon's waiting arms.

"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed happily. She was about to race after Bonnie but Stefan held her back, pointing at the wheezing redhead.

Stefan, Elena, Matt, and Meredith impatiently waited a few seconds before rushing over to her. The redhead was swallowed with hugs and cheers.

"Give her some room." Damon snapped and everyone slowly retreated.

Bonnie's brown eyes widened in disbelief and fear when she caught sight of Buffy and her friends. She clung to Damon like a koala bear. Her next telepathic, psychic scream was so loud even Meredith could hear it.

_WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?!_

Damon bent down and whispered into Bonnie's ear, mussing her hair until she'd calmed down.

"What's he telling her?" Elena whispered to Stefan, who merely flashed her a small smile and whispered back, "He's taking care of it."

Finally, Bonnie stood up straighter and smiled. Still clutching Damon's hand tightly, she moved closer to Willow.

"Thank you." Bonnie smiled, tucking a stray curl behind her ear with her free hand. "I'll help you with the spell."

"You will?" Willow's mouth dropped open in surprise. Behind her, her friends cheered. "Okay! I mean, thank _you._ And I'm sorry for turning you into stone."

"The irony." Bonnie giggled. "And it's okay." She let go of Damon's hand and plopped herself down right between Spike and Dawn.

Meredith stared at Bonnie as she chatted and giggled away with her new friends.

"Bonnie makes friends faster than anyone I know." Elena said. She was observing the scene too.

Matt rolled his blue eyes and sighed. "Guess she'll never change."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to upload. I hope my readers haven't lost interest. My first time writing Meredith's POV, hope I didn't do it too horribly. Also, no Buffy POV this chapter, again. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave me a comment! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**TVD TVD TVD **

"I'm so glad to be back." Bonnie sighed happily. She twirled around, her hair flying up and framing her face.

"We are too." Matt chuckled and kicked a rock across the sidewalk.

Bonnie had been so psyched and excited, she'd wanted to walk to the grocery store instead of driving there. So there they were on a chilly afternoon, halfway to the local Harris Teeter.

"And I'm glad I met you guys!" Bonnie exclaimed, throwing her arms around Dawn and Buffy.

Dawn giggled and hugged her back. "So am I!"

"Likewise." Buffy smiled. She stopped walking and raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "So what's it like?"

"What's what like?" Bonnie asked, leaning against a street lamp.

"Being turned into stone." Buffy said at the same time Dawn blurted out, "Having a thing with Damon."

"What?" Bonnie blushed. Was her crush on the dark eyed vampire that obvious? "Damon and I are just..."

"Friends?" Dawn raised an eyebrow at her and cocked her head. "We all know that's not true."

"Oh, look." Matt said loudly, fidgeting uncomfortably. "A squirrel."

But nobody bothered to glance his way.

"No, seriously!" Bonnie's cheeks were a deep scarlet now. "We're just...honestly, we're not even friends."

"Doesn't seem that way." Dawn teased.

"Dawn!" Buffy widened her eyes at her sister. "Enough!"

Dawn didn't listen.

"He's sooo cute." Dawn gushed, hugging herself. "I think he may be cuter than Spike and _that's_ saying something."

"What?" Buffy gasped.

"Oh, right." Dawn turned to her sister and covered her mouth. "My bad. I forgot you were here." She leaned closer to Bonnie and whisper-hissed, "My sister has this _huge _crush on Spike."

"No!" Buffy stomped her foot and glared. "I do not like Spike!"

Bonnie and Dawn giggled.

The sudden rustling of a nearby bush had Bonnie freezing in fear.

"It's probably just a rabbit or something." Dawn assured her with a small smile.

But Bonnie's psychic intuition told her something entirely different.

"Let's get out of here." Bonnie said uneasily, finally acknowledging Matt as she tugged on his arm. "_Please_."

"Boo!" A unfamiliar voice exclaimed as a man jumped out from behind the bush. Five others followed-two men, three woman.

"Did we scare you?" One of the woman purred.

"No." Was Buffy's instant remark. "Far from it, actually."

"What do you want from us?" Matt demanded, stepping protectively in front of the three girls.

"Oh nothing much." A guy with thick locks smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"Is that Eddie?" Bonnie brought a hand to her mouth in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Matt cried, squinting as if he couldn't believe it.

"He goes to our school!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"We don't want much." The tallest of the men agreed. "Just..your blood." He grinned widely, revealing a row of perfect teeth and two glistening fangs. The rest mimicked his actions, identical fangs long and shiny.

Bonnie and Dawn gasped.

"You want our blood?" Buffy was reaching into her boot. "Come and get it!"

They lunged.

"Oh crap." Buffy paled, eyes wide as she fought them off. "I don't have my stake!"

"Well don't you just have the loveliest little neck..." Eddie circled around Bonnie.

"Hey!" Matt tapped Eddie on the shoulder and when he turned around, punched him as hard as he could. But Eddie only laughed and pushed him aside.

"The sticks!" Dawn hissed to Bonnie, pointing to the ground.

Dawn managed to grab a thick, long stick before one of the woman grabbed her round the waist.

Wide eyed, Bonnie crouched behind the bush the vampires had emerged from and held her breath.

_Think. Think._

Bonnie peered over the pointy leaves. Matt was just barely managing to avoid the vampires' blows. Dawn was whacking at a woman with the stick. Buffy was fighting off the rest of the vampires.

Bonnie's gaze landed on the sticks scattered around the grass. She stared, focused, and lifted her hand. On cue, one of the sticks rose in the air.

"Aim at the heart!" Buffy was screaming. "Aim at the heart!"

One of the woman narrowed her eyes when she saw Bonnie and started toward her. Panicking, Bonnie shot the stick straight forward. The girl cried out in pain and fell to her knees, grabbing at the stick that had pierced her chest.

Bonnie quickly made another stick rise.

"The heart!" Buffy shrieked. "The heart! Not me! The heart!"

Bonnie was determined not to let anything break into her concentration and continued leading the stick, over the vampires' reach and straight toward Buffy. She sent Buffy an urgent telepathic shout.

_USE IT!_

Buffy finally caught on. She reached out and wrapped her hand around the stick. After that, things happened very fast. Buffy ran around, climbing tree trunks sideways and flipping off, punching, kicking.

Bonnie managed to stake one more vampire and Buffy got rid of the rest of them.

"Why didn't they turn into dust?" Buffy panted, staring down at the lifeless bodies.

"They don't turn into dust." Bonnie responded, finally coming out of her hiding place. "They just...die."

"That's weird." Buffy said, kicking one of the dead vampires in the head.

"I'll call Stefan." Matt said, already taking out his Android.

"Why?" Buffy asked. "We don't need help. They're gone."

"We've gotta get rid of the bodies though." Bonnie told her as Matt yapped away on his phone. "We can't just leave them lying around."

"Oh." Buffy nodded. "Right."

They huddled together and waited impatiently for the others to arrive.

"Ew." Dawn frowned and poked the side of Eddie's pale, vein-covered face with a stick. "Why do they look like that?"

"I don't even know." Bonnie said honestly, giggling softly.

Stefan's red Porsche pulled up beside them, followed by Damon's dark Ferrari.

"They stayed at the Boarding House." Damon answered Bonnie's unspoken question as he slid out of his Ferrari.

Stefan stepped out of his car and surveyed the number of bodies on the ground with a frown.

"We'll throw them into Drowning Creek." Stefan decided.

Damon helped him pile the vampires' bodies into the Porsche.

"Matt will come with me." Stefan wiped his hands on his jeans and slammed the door shut before turning to his brother. "Damon."

"What?" The dark-eyed vampire sighed.

"Take the girls home."

With that, Stefan and Matt jumped into the Porsche and drove away.

"Come on in, ladies." Damon flashed them his brilliant 500 kilowatt smile and gestured toward his Ferrari.

Buffy and Dawn climbed into the back of his car, purposely letting Bonnie take the passenger's seat. Dawn giggled uncontrollably at Bonnie's blush. Bonnie only crossed her arms and hmph'd.

_Thanks a lot. _

* * *

**A/N: Because I adore _Bamon_. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Next chapter will be longer. Don't forget to tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**BTVSBTVSBTVSBTVS**

"Those vampires tried to kill us!" Buffy hissed, glaring daggers at Spike.

"Not you." Spike snapped, leaned forward and angrily tapped his nails on the side of the bed. "_Them_!"

"Exactly." Dawn came in, frowning. "They're our friends. Something's after them and we can't just leave them!"

"We met them a day and a half ago!" Spike shot back in frustration.

"And they took us in." Buffy argued, lowering her voice. "After we tried to kill them!"

"Well that was sweet of them." Spike glowered with a dry laugh. "But _this_ is not our problem!"

"I.." Willow spoke up and shrunk away from Spike's glare. "I kind of wanna help too."

"They're really nice." Xander agreed. He turned to his girlfriend. "Ahn?"

"I'm worried about my money." Anya told him seriously, hands intertwined on her lap. "Do you think Giles is taking good care of The Magic Box?"

"Anya!" Dawn snapped, slapping a hand to her forehead. "Honestly?"

Anya pouted and crossed her arms. "I guess we should help them." She sighed, giving in. "It's the right thing to do."

"Besides." Buffy poked Spike in the chest and held his gaze. "I thought Damon was your friend."

"He is." Spike shrugged, grabbing her hand with a playful smirk. "But I'm never gonna see him again after we leave. Don't you get it?"

"One more day won't hurt." Buffy said, narrowing her eyes at him and pulling her hand away. "We're staying. That's final."

Spike groaned but didn't object and Buffy allowed herself a triumphant smile.

"We haven't talked to Giles." Xander reminded them just as Buffy was going to leave the guest room.

"Oh, right." Buffy gathered her hair into a ponytail and pranced into the bathroom. "Will?"

"Got it." The redhead stood in front of the mirror and like last time, chanted with closed eyes until Giles' image was reflecting on the glass.

This time, Giles was dressed in his normal attire. As he brought a spoon to his mouth, they got closer too.

"Is he eating soup?" Xander quirked an eyebrow.

"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed. "Don't eat us!"

Giles eyes flew wide open and he jumped back, clutching his heart.

"Dear God..." Giles panted. "Don't do that!"

"Giles." Buffy said flatly, arms crossed. "We can't go back."

"Yet!" Dawn added.

"Why not?" Giles demanded, fixing his tie and setting the spoon down.

"Where's Tara?" Asked Willow.

"Not here." Giles responded. "Buffy! What do you mean you can't come back yet?"

"Look, Giles." Buffy said warily, running a hand through her hair. "Someone..something is after our friends here."

"We almost got killed today." Dawn told him and Buffy pinched her arm. "Ow!"

"You what?!" Giles hissed. "You can't stay there! You're going to get killed."

Buffy shot him a lazy smile. "Come on, Giles. You know that's not gonna happen."

"We just want to help our friends." Dawn pleaded, clasping her hands together.

Giles' sighed and shook his head. "I really don't want you to stay there any longer than necessary." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But I know how stubborn you kids are and there's not really anything I can do to stop you."

"Yay!" Dawn cheered and hugged Spike, who didn't seem as excited as she did.

"Please be careful." Giles begged. "Please don't get killed."

"We won't!" Buffy exclaimed. "We love you, Giles!"

"Yeah, yeah." Giles muttered. "I love you too."

"Tell Tara I miss her!" Willow cried.

"I will." Giles promised.

"Bye!"

The image disappeared.

"I miss Giles."

"Yeah." Dawn sighed and hugged her sister. "So do I."

Buffy patted her sister's head and pulled away. "Let's go see if Stefan and Matt are back."

Buffy and her friends made their way down the stairs and into the living room where they found everyone sitting and talking in low, serious voices.

"Hey, guys." Elena greeted.

"Hey."

Bonnie hopped to her feet and smiled sadly at them. Rubbing her hands together, she said, "I'm ready to do the spell."

"About that..." Buffy trailed off for special effects.

"We're staying!" Dawn ruined the moment with her excited shriek.

"You are?" Bonnie cried. She grabbed Dawn and the two of them jumped around in happiness.

"For a few more days, anyway." Buffy nodded and sat down beside Meredith. "But it's something."

Damon eyed her suspiciously from his seat. "Why?"

"We're gonna help you." Willow plopped down on the couch.

"With what?" Matt asked.

"I mean there's someone out there trying to kill you guys." Xander said slowly.

"That's great." Elena grinned at them. "We can use all the help we can get."

_Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap._

"Someone's knocking." Anya gestured to the door. "You should probably open it."

Buffy watched as Stefan peered through the peep hole and swung the door open.

"Carlos?" Stefan scratched the side of his head and stared at the tall, dark haired teenage boy standing in the door way.

"Hey, Carlos!" Elena waved from the loveseat and turned to Buffy. "He's in my Chemistry class."

"Hey." Carlos flashed them a toothy grin. "I'm sort of...lost. I was wondering if I could borrow your phone to call my dad? Mine died."

"You're lost?" Meredith spoke up, an eyebrow raising.

"Yeah." Carlos said slowly. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Stefan waved him inside. "Come on in."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Carlos!" Meredith stood and eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah?" Carlos frowned and graciously accepted Stefan's outstretched Nokia.

"I grew up here." Meredith started.

"Okay." Carlos said sharply. "So did I. And?"

"_And _I know Fells Church like the bottom of my palm." Meredith poked him hard in the chest and narrowed her eyes. "It's a small town. It's pretty hard to get lost, don't you think?"

"Not really." Carlos fidgeted nervously and pretended to be deeply engrossed with the Nokia.

"Especially if you've lived here your whole life." Meredith continued, planting her hands on her hips.

"Carlos?" Bonnie's soft voice interrupted.

"Yeah, Bon?" Carlos looked at her.

"Isn't your dad in Afghanistan?"

Carlos' eyes widened.

"Watch out!" Buffy screeched when she saw Carlos' hand twitch.

A second later, Stefan's Nokia was flying across the living room.

Elena and Willow screamed, just barely managing to avoid the device.

"Carlos." Stefan's voice was low and controlled. "Let her go."

Carlos shook his head, a smirk dancing on his lips. He tightened his grip on Meredith.

"I don't think so."

With that, he grinned widely and bent down, his fangs scraping Meredith's throat.

"Get." Meredith spat. "Off!" She grabbed Carlos' wrist and pulled, grunting as he flipped over her head and landed five feet away in a crouch.

Buffy hopped to her feet, eyes searching for anything wooden.

"Here!" As if reading her mind, Xander tossed her his stake.

"You're so little." Carlos snickered, turning to Buffy and pinching her cheek.

"I know." Buffy smirked back and held the stake up. "You ready to die?"

Carlos laughed and crossed his arms. "Let go of that." He said in a mocking tone. "You might get hurt."

Buffy flashed him a grin before flipping backward, jutting her leg out, and kicking him.

Matt and Bonnie scrambled to get out of the way.

"_Oomph_." Carlos landed on the couch they'd been sitting on.

Buffy raced after him, stake in hand but Damon beat her to it, cracking Carlos' neck and stabbing the leg of a chair through his chest.

"That's the second time someone's tried to kill us." Matt panted.

"I knew something was off about him." Bonnie stood up and ran a shaky hand through her long tresses.

"How were we supposed to know?" Elena argued, staring wide eyed at Carlos' still body. "We've known that kid our whole life!"

"I saw him just yesterday." Stefan added. "At the football game!"

"Why are our classmates getting turned into vampires?" Bonnie whined. "He used to help me with my math homework!"

"Redbird." Damon quirked an eyebrow and flashed her a lazy smile. "There's a difference between _helping _you with your homework and actually _doing _it for you."

"Whatever." Bonnie smiled sheepishly. "Same thing."

"Who do you think is behind the attacks?" Meredith asked Stefan.

Buffy couldn't really contribute to the conversation since she didn't know anyone in Fells Church so she merely listened as they talked about the possible suspects.

"Klaus?" Matt suggested.

Elena's eyes filled with fear for a split second before she shook her head. "No. He's gone, remember? The soldiers...they carried him away." She still didn't look convinced though.

"Besides." Stefan rubbed Elena's back soothingly. "It's not his style."

"V_eritiero._" Damon agreed. "Klaus prefers to confront you himself."

"The Kistune Twins?" Bonnie shuddered.

"Nah." Stefan frowned. "It's not that easy to escape the Dark Dimension."

"And last time we saw them," Damon reminded them, "Misao was terribly sick."

"Another phantom?" Meredith shrugged. "I can't think of anything else."

"I doubt it." Stefan murmured. "Why would any phantom need a vampire's help?"

They seemed to finally remember that Buffy and the Scooby Gang were there.

"Do you guys want anything to eat?" Stefan offered.

"Or drink." Elena smiled but they both seemed distracted.

Anya lifted her hand and Stefan gestured to the kitchen.

"Help yourself. Mrs. Flowers is there if you need any help."

Anya, Dawn, Xander, and Spike went off into the kitchen.

"Bonnie, can you trance?" Stefan was pleading when Buffy brought her attention back to her new friends.

Bonnie sucked in her cheeks and frowned.

"Please!" Elena begged, clasping her hands together. "Maybe we can find something out through you."

Meredith ran a hand through her dark hair and sighed. "Let's not make her do anything she doesn't want to do."

Buffy shot them a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"Bonnie has this gift." Elena told her.

"More like a curse." Bonnie muttered.

"We can communicate through her." Stefan explained.

"With who?" Willow was interested now.

"With spirits." Damon spat. "They take over her body."

"Well when you put it that way..." Elena sulked.

"I'll do it." Bonnie interrupted and forced a smile. "Can someone get me a candle?"

"What's going on?" Anya returned with a big bowl of popcorn.

"Bonnie's going to trance." Elena announced with the enthusiasm of a Disney tour guide.

"What's that?" Dawn plopped down on the floor and took a bite of her ice cream bar.

"You'll see." Elena promised.

"See what?" Xander slunk back into a couch after handing Anya a soda and popping the top off his own.

Nobody bothered to answer.

Spike sat down beside Buffy and threw an arm around her, taking a long swig from a clear glass filled with thick liquid.

"Do you mind?" Buffy hissed, doing her best to avoid knocking the glass of blood out of his hands.

Spike flashed her his signature smirk and she rolled her eyes. He really loved to get under her skin.

"Are you ready?" Stefan asked softly.

"Yeah." Bonnie muttered as Elena set a candle down in front of her and lit it.

Everyone was silent after that.

Bonnie took slow, deep breaths and stared straight into the flame of the candle. Not even two seconds later, her eyes went blank, rolling into the back of her head to reveal the whites of them.

Buffy's own eyes widened, her heart thumping faster in her chest. It was hard to believe that sweet little Bonnie was capable of doing those things. Glancing at Dawn, she noticed she was just as freaked out about it.

"_Stop looking for the obvious._" The raspy voice coming from Bonnie's mouth wasn't her own. She cocked her eyebrow and shook her head at Stefan as if she felt sorry for him.

"Who is after us?" Damon got right to business.

"_A lot of people._" Bonnie's lips curled into a smirk.

"Currently." Stefan clarified with a frustrated breath. "Who is trying to kill us?"

"_Darling Stefan._" The not Bonnie chuckled humorlessly."_Nobody's trying to kill _you_._"

This stumped Stefan.

"Tell us who it is." Damon snapped with his usual glower.

"_I can't do that._" The not Bonnie scoffed. "_But I'll give you a hint."_

"Well?" Damon demanded and Buffy had a feeling that their time was running out. "What is it?"

"_This villain isn't new to you at all. In fact, you go _way_ back._"

With that, Bonnie's eyes shut and she fell forward. Many pairs of hands reached out to catch her. Stefan, the closest one to her, gently picked the unconscious Bonnie up and disappeared up the stairs with her.

"That was something." A wide eyed Xander was in the same position as before, a handful of popcorn dangling in front of his mouth as he gaped.

Willow giggled nervously. "Yeah...I can't do that."

Dawn looked frightened. "Is she going to be okay?"

Buffy pursed her lips and sighed. "We probably shouldn't have let Dawn see that."

"She'll have nightmares for sure." Xander agreed with a shake of his head.

"If she had a boyfriend nightmares wouldn't be a problem." Anya shrugged and pushed more popcorn into her mouth. "She wouldn't sleep."

"Oh my God, Anya." Willow groaned. "Can you stop thinking about sex for _one _second?!"

"It's the hormones." Xander apologized, dropping his face into his hands.

Elena started laughing. "Anya's so funny." She managed, wiping a tear from her eye.

That was enough to ease the tension. Most of them burst into a fit of giggles.

"Back to business." Meredith stretched and cracked her knuckles.

"Possibilities?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie said you go way back." Xander chirped in helpfully.

"This wasn't worth it." Damon muttered and brushed his dark hair back. "We don't know anymore than we did before."

"Bonnie said no one's trying to kill Stefan..." Meredith murmured thoughtfully.

"I'm guessing whoever is behind this is aiming for the humans." Damon responded with an eye roll. "Still not helpful."

"I'm brainstorming." Meredith spat, glaring at him. "If you don't like it you're welcome to leave."

"You know what, Meredith?" Damon shot back while jumping to his feet. "I think I will." He glared at her one last time before making his way out the front door and slamming it behind him.

"Okay, wow." Dawn stared after him. "Why is he so mean to you?"

"He's mean to everyone." Meredith chuckled and shrugged. "I don't really give a crap."

"But he's a vampire." Dawn told her, frowning.

"I'm a vampire hunter." Meredith reminded her with a small smile.

"Oh right, I forgot." Dawn smiled back, a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes as they flicked to Buffy. "Your relationship with Damon is like Buffy's and Spike's."

"What?" Spike snorted.

"The bad ass vampire and the slayer-slash-hunter. Constant bickering. Occasional psychical fighting."

"You got it." Meredith winked with a small laugh.

"Well," Dawn shrugged and flashed them an innocent grin. "Besides the whole crushing on each other thing."

"Dawn!" Buffy fought the urge to punch her sister and blushed a deep red. "Shut up. You don't even know what you're talking about."

"Then why are you all red?" Anya reached forward and poked her cheek.

"I need to go the bathroom." Buffy swatted Anya's popcorn butter dusted fingers away from her face and stomped up the stairs.

Buffy tried to ignore her friends' hoots of laughter.

_This is so embarrassing. _

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reviews, guys. So there's a new villain in town. Anyone have any idea who it might be? I think it's pretty obvious, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please remember to leave a comment!**


	10. Chapter 10

**TVD TVD TVD TVD TVD **

"I still think you should stay here, Elena." Matt insisted with a sigh. "It isn't safe out there right now."

"Come on." Elena pouted, hands lingering over the doorknob. "Stefan will be with me."

"I agree with the Mutt this time." Damon said coolly.

"Matt." Bonnie and Matt corrected at the same time.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"We still need groceries!" Elena tried again. "Plus, we'll take the car this time."

"They're right." Bonnie shook her head, eyes pleading. "There's someone after us."

"Love, maybe you _should _stay here." Stefan said as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"No!" Exclaimed Elena. She pushed the door open and stepped out, crossing her arms. "I wanna go."

"Elena." Damon muttered, closing his eyes and massing his temples. "You're going to get hurt."

"Why do you want to go this late, anyway?" Matt snapped. "We can just go tomorrow. When it's actually sunny outside."

"We're all out of eggs and orange juice!" Elena argued.

"You know how stubborn Elena is." Meredith spoke up, pinching the bridge of her nose and staring out the naked windows into the darkness. "It's no use. Just take care of her, Stefan. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." Stefan saluted with a playful smile.

"Yay!" Elena cheered to herself and grabbed Stefan's arm.

"Oh and Stefan?" Meredith called.

"Yeah?" Stefan looked back.

"You might want to think about buying some curtains." Meredith flashed him a grin and knocked on the window.

"What color curtains should we buy?" Elena asked as she slid into the passenger's seat.

Stefan shrugged, starting the car. "It's up to you."

"I'm glad Meredith brought that up." Elena admitted as Stefan pulled out of the woods and crossed Wickery Bridge.

"And why's that?" Stefan smiled.

"I always feel like someone's watching us when I come over."

"The Boarding House is in the middle of the woods."

"I know." Elena smiled sheepishly. "It makes it that much creepier."

"Don't worry." Leaving his left hand over the steering wheel, Stefan brought his other one over Elena's and intertwined their fingers. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Elena didn't even have time to gush over his sweet comment before a sudden loud crack ruined the moment.

"What was that?" Elena whispered.

Stefan peered out his window and drove slower.

"I'm not sure." He murmured.

"Stefan!" Elena shrieked when the huge tree came crashing down in front of them.

Stefan hit the brakes. It wasn't fast enough though, and the car smashed right into the fallen trunk.

Next came the rumbling impact. Elena was pushed forward, head banging against the top of the glove compartment before the airbag exploded and she was shoved back. Something wet was running down Elena's face. She struggled to hold onto consciousness and form coherent thoughts.

_Head...Hurts..Stefan..._

"Elena?" She heard Stefan's frantic voice but couldn't bring herself to answer. "Love? Look at me!"

Elena finally managed to open her eyes. The door was jammed by one of the thickest branches and Stefan was peering at her over it.

"Can you get your seat belt, love?" Stefan tried to keep his voice controlled but his eyes were panicked.

Suddenly, Stefan was dragged away.

"Stefan!" Elena screamed. Her voice was rough and scratchy.

"Surprise." A boy Elena had never seen before in her life stood where Stefan had been only seconds ago.

"Get away from her, you bastard." Stefan sounded angry. His pale hand shot out and grabbed the boy round his neck. The stranger disappeared from Elena's line of sight.

Elena fumbled with the metal and her seat belt finally became undone. The window was closed, she realized, and the switch wasn't working.

She slid as far back as she could and kicked, hoping her ankle boots were sharp enough to pierce through the windows. Three more kicks later, the window shattered. Ignoring the searing pain she felt in her head and the scratch of the pieces of glass against her skin, she crawled through and over the branch, falling onto the road in an ungraceful heap.

She glanced around with wide eyes, finally spotting Stefan about fifteen feet away. He was struggling to fight off three bulky vampires.

"There she is!" One of them shouted, pointing to her.

"I said _leave her alone_!" Stefan bellowed, pushing past the two trying to hold him back. He was gone then, a blur amidst the dark night.

Elena yelped in surprise when an arm wrapped around her and she was thrown over a shoulder.

She was getting ready to put up a fight when she heard Stefan's soft voice. His hand was running through her hair comfortingly and his voice was soothing.

"It's okay now. Shh. You're okay."

Elena allowed herself to relax in his arms, blue eyes drifting shut as the trees and road flew by in a blur.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reviews. Shorter chapter. Hope you enjoyed though! **


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